About 400 artists recently announced the founding of the Chinese Ink Painting Society in Beijing.

Veteran birds-and-flowers painter Guo Yizong was elected as the academic NGO's first chairman.

"In recent decades, Chinese ink art has made great headway, and the market is booming," Guo says.

He also said society has a responsibility to "advance the time-honored art form in the new century and introduce it to people all over the world."