On the afternoon of July 15, the opening ceremony of "Visionary: The Works of Xu Jiang" was held at the Shanghai Jiushi International Art Center, concurrently kicking off the "2023 The Bund Art Salon Season of the Shanghai Jiushi International Art Center". The exhibition is hosted by the China Academy of Art (CAA), China Oil Painting Society, and Shanghai Jiushi Real Estate Co., Ltd., and organized by the Bund One Art Museum (BOAM), Horizon Art Center, and Tang Contemporary Art.

The exhibition has three sections, namely, "Gazing at Shanghai", "Sunflower Garden Watcher", and "Scenic Outlook". "Gazing at Shanghai" showcases a historical panorama of Shanghai from over 20 years ago. Overlook the city as time passes by. The paintings created 20 years ago manifest the passion and aspirations of the visionary pioneers of the new century. "Sunflower Garden Watcher" is a condensed depiction of the artist's 18 years of searching, painting, and praising sunflowers since the beginning of the new century. Sunflowers are the artist's spiritual underpinnings. Over the years, sunflowers captured in the paintings have made their way across the world and are still in their original splendor. It is the sunflowers in which hope is put. The paintings give sunflowers a new life. "Scenic Outlook" presents the artist's recent years of expressive landscape paintings of the beauty of the Jiangnan region. Climb every mountain, search high and low, ford every stream, till you find your way.

Attendees of the opening ceremony include Gong Xinhan, former Vice Executive Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee; Sun Donglin, Executive Vice President of Jiushi Group; Liu Xiangmin, Party Secretary and Director General of Shanghai Municipal Auditing Bureau; Xi Meijuan, Vice Chairman of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) and Chairman of Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles (SFLAC); Xia Yujing, Party Secretary and Full-time Vice Chairman of SFLAC; Yang Shouwei, Party Secretary of Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles (ZFLAC); Yin Dongmei, Executive Vice Secretary of Fudan University; Liu Ming, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of Frontier Institute of Chip and System (FICS) of Fudan University; Yu Huiyu, former Researcher at Counsellors Office of the State Council; Xiao Yeying, Deputy Director General of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism; Sun Ganlu, Vice Chairman of Shanghai Writers' Association; Wang Li, Deputy Director General of Huangpu Culture and Tourism Bureau; guests from the art, business and other communities including Zeng Chenggang, Vice Chairman of China Artists Association, Director of China Sculpture Institute, and Dean of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts; Zheng Xinyao, Vice Chairman of SFLAC and Chairman of Shanghai Artists Association (SAA); Li Lei, Vice Chairman of SAA; Zhang Xiaoling, Council Member of China National Academy of Painting and Dean of College of Fine Arts of East China Normal University (ECNU); Zhou Changjiang, former Chairman of SAA and former Dean of School of Arts of ECNU; Li Xiangyang, former President of Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Institute (SOPSI) and Dean of School of Fine Arts of Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts; Yu Xiaofu, former President of SOPSI and Dean of Fine Arts College of Shanghai Normal University; Zang Hua, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Board of Shanghai Jiushi Real Estate; Xie Dingwei, Executive Director of BOAM and General Manager of Shanghai Tianxie Cultural Development; Directors of Power Station of Art, Liu Haisu Art Museum, and Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum; Heads of China Energy Engineering Group.

Chairman of the Committee of Academy Affairs of CAA Jin Yibin, President of CAA Gao Shiming, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Academy Affairs of CAA Liu Zheng, Vice Presidents of CAA Shen Hao and Fu Qiaoling, and professors at CAA including Xu Mangyao, Wu Haiyan, Yang Qirui, Zhang Renyuan, Zhang Xiaoming, Sun Jinggang also attended the ceremony. Other attendees include representatives from ZFLAC and the art community, students and faculty of the School of Painting of CAA, and representatives from Shanghai Jiushi Real Estate, and journalists. Yu Xuhong, Secretary of the Secretariat of ZFLAC, Member of the Committee of Academy Affairs and Director of the Publicity Office of CAA, presided over the ceremony.

Gong Xinhan, Gao Shiming, Sun Donglin, and Zhang Xiaoling delivered a speech. Xu Jiang made appreciation remarks.

"Holding an exhibition at the Bund by the Huangpu River is a valuable experience. The Bund from many years ago appeared in my paintings and my gazing frequently. Standing here, I feel like I'm in a historical scene or a garden of nostalgia," said Xu Jiang in his speech. The gazing embodies people's beliefs, including their longing for the city, sunflower garden, mountains, and rivers. That's the gist of the Visionary.