A splash ink painting by the artist Zhuang Xiaojian [Photo from Kunshan Daily]

A museum in Kunshan, Jiangsu province has launched an exhibition to immerse visitors in one of China's strangest and most intriguing art forms: Splash ink painting.

The First China Splash Ink Painting Biennale opened at Hou Beiren Art Museum in Kunshan on Nov 30, and will run till Dec 18.

Reportedly created by a Tang Dynasty (618-907) artist one night when he was very drunk after a banquet, splash ink painting, or po mo, involves splashing bowls of water and ink onto a sheet of rice paper and smudging the stains into whatever shapes take your fancy.

A splash ink painting by the artist Wang Jianer [Photo from Kunshan Daily]

The exhibition aims to popularize this unique art form, which throughout history has been associated with the idea of freedom, creativity, spontaneity and imagination.

It is also a celebration of the 100th birthday of Hou Beiren, the renowned contemporary artist who has made a huge contribution to developing splash ink painting in China and has donated more than 300 works to the museum that bears his name.

A parallel academic seminar on the development of po mo was held in the afternoon of Nov 30, attracting some 100 artists and scholars from China and abroad.

A splash ink painting by the artist He Wanli [Photo from Kunshan Daily]