Traditionally, on the occasion of the Lunar New Year in China, brightly-coloured woodprints are on sale everywhere: from country to town to the remote highland areas, enhancing the joyful mood of springtime celebrations.

Foshan New Year Woodprints, produced in Foshan in South China's Guangdong Province, are popular in South China. Foshan. Foshan is also one of the four major Chinese New Year picture woodcut production areas, alongside Yangliuqing, Tiajin; Weifang, Shandong and Taohuawu, Suzhou .

Long history

It was said that the New Year pictures were started in the Tang Dynasty ( 618-907AD). The legend goes that Li Shimin, founder of the Tang Dynasty, often had nightmares about ghosts. In order to exorcise the bad dreams, the emperor ordered two of his generals, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde, to guard the door of his bedroom all night.