Inside-bottle painting was developed from the inside painted snuff bottle in Beijing during the reign of Emperor Jiaqing (1796-1820) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It gradually formed four different schools, namely the Beijing school, the Hebei school, the Shandong school, and the Guangdong school.

Guangdong Inside-bottle Painting is mainly popular in the province's Shantou region, and was created by Wu Songling (1920-1998).

It is primarily painted on the inside of crystal or glass bottles, using a narrow sliver of bamboo or brush, as well as ink and color. The decorations on the outside of the bottles are a combination of cloisonne enamel and decorative porcelain in Chaoshan techniques.

The bottles used for Guangdong Inside-bottle Painting have different sizes, with the maximum height reaching 13.5 centimeters and the minimum height being 5 cm.

Known as a peculiar art of painting, Guangdong Inside-bottle Painting was designated as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Two bottles with Guangdong Inside-bottle Painting. [Photo/gdsqyg.com]