[Photo/Artron.net]

It is said that Emperor Qianlong preferred West Lake in Hangzhou a lot, and each time he went to Hangzhou, he would live near the West Lake. Two paintings from the exhibition portray the scene of the imperial palace for his short stays at West Lake.

Though Emperor Qianlong visited South China six times, the major part of his life was not spent there. So whenever he missed the West Lake, he would draw it on canvas and write poems dedicated to the lake. "Qianlong loved West Lake so much that whenever he wanted to paint something the landscapes of the West Lake would soon be on the canvas", Ma said.