Man and Woman by A Vase by Pablo Picasso [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China, says as one of the Ludwig collection's beneficiaries, the museum has a duty to share the couple's generosity with more people through exhibitions and other public programs.

Yang believes exhibiting the Ludwigs' donation is meaningful today as art and antique collections are burgeoning in China.

"Peter Ludwig said his collection should serve everyone so that people can better understand art and further boost cultural development. He made donations to museums because he knew museums are capsules of history and bear an undertaking to accumulate cultural wealth from different times," he says.

"I often say that if one no longer wants to keep his or her collection, it should be donated to a well-established museum just like the Ludwigs did, setting an example for today's collectors."

If you go

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