Xinjiang's largest and most distinctive oil painting exhibition this year, presenting views of Xinjiang's Tacheng city, the so-called 'oil painting city', opened free to the public on Nov 5.

Tacheng, one of China's open cities closest to a national border, gained the name as Russian and Kazakhstan oil paintings were transported through it to Xinjiang.

At an exhibition held in Urumqi a student takes pictures of a piece by Ghazi Ahmed, a famous oil painter from Xinjiang. [Photo/xinjiangnet]

Tacheng has held many activities to uphold its title of oil painting city. An event held in June and July for example invited famous domestic and overseas artists to portray the city.

Xinjiang's oil painting industry has developed fast thanks to its unique geography and culture and a sixty to seventy-year history in the art.

Ghazi Ahmed, a well-known Xinjiang oil painter, claimed many national prizes in the 1950s to 1960s and earned a foothold for the region's oil paintings.

Prayer from Plateau, National Memory on May. 19th, a painting of Zhao Peizhi, associate professor of Xinjiang Normal University, won a gold award at the Eleventh National Art Exhibition in 2009.

Another Xinjiang painter, Cheng Linxin, won a prize in the 2013 Louvre international art display in France.

By Qiu Guizhen and edited by Peter Nordinger