A visitor takes a photo of the sheep exhibits at the Capital Museum.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Capital Museum in Beijing has a special exhibition for the Year of the Sheep that begins on Feb 11, or on "Little New Year" ("Xiaonian" in Chinese, usually a week before Lunar New Year) to showcase sheep,one of 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. The sheep represents auspiciousness and harmony.

This "Spending New Year 2015 in the museum" show has different perspectives of sheep, from their origins in ancient Chinese chronology to their influence on modern Chinese culture, with 85 related relics on display, including bronze ware, weapons, sculptures, jade items and paintings.

The Chinese character for sheep ("Yang") can be found in each of the three words for "Mei" (beauty), "Yi" (righteousness) and "Xiang" (propitiousness), which are used to explore its cultural dimensions at the exhibition.

Another feature is the section designed especially for children, which differs from previous years, by paying more attention to the younger generation with animated presentations.

More exhibitions are expected for this year, with nine major ones, covering, for example, Qing Dynasty ( 1644-1911) porcelain, the historical connection of the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and Hebei province, the history of the Swiss Watch, and the water-system of Seoul.

Another interesting attraction taking place is the "Amazing Culture of the Chu State".

The Capital Museum will be open during the lunar new year holiday, except for Feb 18.