Yangliuqing Spring Festival pictures demonstrate people's good emotions and wishes through moral and realistic means, and are particularly characterized by themes such as current events, social customs and historical stories directly reflecting the society in each period. 

Take the Spring Festival picture Surplus over the Years for example. The doll on the picture has a "baby's face, Buddha's body, with a stage gesture and martial manner", hugging a catfish and holding a lotus in hand. Homonymically, it implies rich living and has become a classic in New Year pictures, spreading far and wide ever since.