Image Nature Between Painting and Photography, an exhibition featuring flower and bird paintings by noted Chinese botanical illustrator Zeng Xiaolian, opened in Shanghai on Saturday. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Musella Lasiocarpa by Zeng in 2021. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Celosia Cristata by Zeng in 2019. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Wightia Speciosissima by Zeng. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Sedelnikovaea Baicalensis by Zeng in 2020. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Alocasia Macrorrhiza by Zeng in 2020. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Juniperus Chinensis by Zeng in 2020. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Gallus Gallus by Zeng in 2020. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Minla Cyanouroptera by Zeng in 2020. Photo: Zeng Xiaolian, courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

The Shanghai Center of Photography selected 40 pieces by the artist at the exhibition. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

Zeng’s artworks are on display at the exhibition. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography.

The artist, who started his career as a natural history illustrator at the Kunming Institute of Botany in 1958, has devoted his life to depicting China’s plant diversity with drawings balanced between the practical and the artistic. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography

A photo shows Zeng Xiaolian drawing in a park is displayed in the exhibition, which will run until May 22. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Center of Photography