Yangliuqing is a **all town in the western suburbs of Tianjin. New year pictures workshops appeared there at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), employing people to paint, cut wood, print and mount pictures. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), “Yangliuqing” became the country’s most famous kind of woodblock picture. At its heyday, most people living in the twon and in the surrounding 32 villages were engaged in the business. They produced more than 20 million pieces a year. As well as maintaining the sincerity of traditional folk paintings, the Yangliuqing pictures also absorbed the characteristics of traditional Chinese “realistic” painting and paid close attention to the details of the figures. The colouring used the different effects of “soft colours (gentle, clear and sometimes pinkish)” and “hard colours (strong, deep and pure).” Yangliuqing pictures use both process printing and hand drawing for colour. The themes range from the dignified door-god (whose pictures were often pasted on the front door of a house as a tali**an in old China), chubby children and elegant ladies, to scenes from ancient novels and folk tales. The images are vivid and colourful. Larger sized woodblock pictures are a specialty of the Yangliuqing pictures.