[Photo provided to China Daily]

Shen also shows many new landscapes in which he paints weeds. He sees in them an incarnation of the spirit of bravery and persistence that defined the Long March.

"I like observing weeds when I travel. They grow with great effort. And even when they wither, they stand tall.

"Weeds usually face a crisis of existence. This distinguishes them from other plants that grow with a false sense of self-importance," Shen says.

Wang Ming, director of Beijing Fine Art Academy, says Shen is like a film director who has presented the heroism of the Long March with mastery and a distinctive approach.

The academy has original drafts of The Earth's Red Flying Ribbon, and Wang says an exhibition to show them is being planned.

If you go

Shen Yaoyi's Selected Works (2005-15)

9 am-5 pm, through May 10, Monday closed. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.