An interior design work that shows how to transform cave dwellings - common in China's western regions - into comfortable apartments is also among the seven gold award works.

"Most of our awarded works focus on topics of daily life. Art should serve life," says Xu.

All the 576 artworks in the show cover almost all the art genres like sculptures, ceramic, lacquer paintings, murals, watercolor, art design, cartoon and experimental art. A large number of the competing artists are in their 30s.

Started in 1949, the national exhibition of fine arts was intended to be a platform to select talented artists across China. It is often seen as a cradle for promising artists. Well-known artists like Ai Xuan, He Duocen and Luo Zhongli rose to fame through taking part in the art competition.

The show usually would tour major cities in China and then go on an Asian tour. But this year, since it received 4.5 million yuan ($720,000) from the China National Art Foundation, it will go out of Asia to Europe and the US for the first time, says Tao Qin, deputy general-secretary of the artists association.

Tao says 80 works from the competition will tour New Zealand, Italy and the Rockefeller Center in New York in 2015.

For its show in Japan, five museums have been added to that country's stop from three, due to its rising popularity among the Japanese.

IF YOU GO

9 am-5 pm, until Jan 4. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing.

010-6400-1476.