HONG KONG.-Contemporary Chinese Art was in hot demand at Sotheby's Hong Kong today, when a sale of more than 100 works raised HK$69,961,201 (US$9,019,398). This figure is double the pre-sale low estimate for the sale, which was 96.2% sold by lot and 97.6% sold by value. Buying was truly international with bids coming from America, Switzerland, France, Germany and Asia.

The six most expensive lots of the sale were all paintings by Wu Guanzhong (b. 1919), clearly the artist of the moment. Hometown of Lu Xun Series and Village both sold for HK$6,392,000 (US$824,057), against pre-sale estimates of HK$1,000,000 - 1,200,000 and HK$1,600,000 - 2,200,000 respectively.* The first of these was bought by a European private collector.

Evelyn Lin, Specialist in charge of the sale, said: "We are delighted with today's results - the highest total to date for a sale of Contemporary Chinese Art. This market is growing at a rate that no one could have predicted. It is wonderful to see established artists like Guanzhong being bought at an international level, and even more pleasing is collectors' reaction to works by emerging artists, many of whom were appearing at auction for the first time today. In particular, Lin Minghong's (b. 1964) installation, Storyteller, which sold for HK$456,000 (US$58,788)."