Outstanding in his field

As they drove on for another 100 kilometers, the ancient ruins of Troy, immortalized in Homer's Iliad, appeared before Xu.

The contrast of the two sights — a flower that blooms and falls each year on the one hand, and the 4,000-year-old repository of human civilization — seemingly ignited Xu's passion for sunflowers, and helped him identify a lifelong painting subject.

Ever since, sunflowers have captured his imagination: To Xu, they are not just plants, they represent his spiritual underpinnings.

As another well-known artist Qiu Zhijie once quipped, "Once Xu Jiang stepped into that sunflower garden, he has never looked back."

Another part of the exhibition showcases Xu's paintings of Shanghai's Bund, created over 20 years ago, presenting a historical panorama of the metropolis at the time.