Unlike the wood-block New Year prints, calendar pictures are usually combinations of sketch painting and water color, so the figure lineaments are fine and the colors are natural. In a calendar picture, the central painting is the main feature, while the advertised commodities and the calendar play second fiddle. But it was required that the goods be delineated exquisitely. Professional painters of this field include Zheng Mantuo, Zhou Baisheng, Xie Zhiguang and others.

In the beginning, only foreign companies adopted this special calendar for competition, but later on, Chinese entrepreneurs also learned this way of advertising. In the late 19th century, the lottery industry in Shanghai was highly competitive. Therefore, many lottery agencies handed out the calendar pictures to attract customers. Thus, the heyday of calendar pictures was motivated by business rivalry.

In the early Republic period, most of the calendar pictures were cigarette advertisements. Insurance advertisements ranked second. This novel calendar, suiting both refined and popular tastes, had won the affection of people not only in Shanghai, but also in other major cities and other Asian countries.