BEIJING ¨C Beijing Poly¡¯s First Evening Sale of Chinese Art Works held at Kunlun Hotel on November 30 realized a total over 440 million RMB, a new record achieved by Poly Auction since it first introduced the concept of ¡°evening sale¡± to China this spring. With a tremendous 92.37% (109 among 118 pieces) works sold, this year¡¯s autumn auction held by Poly has become the most influential and eye-catching auction domestically. Along with the fantastic results of the total sale, a number of art works in the evening sale were hammered at unprecedented prices as well, including one pair of Zitan Cabinet hand-made in Qianlong period of Qing dynasty, achieved at an amazing hammer price of CNY £¤28 million, which created a new auction record regarding the Chinese furniture. With the concerted efforts by our professional colleagues, Poly¡¯s evening sale has already been known as an exciting phenomenon for prospective buyers, collectors as well as art lovers; it also becomes an international event which not only fascinates buyers and media from Japan, Korean, and other Asian countries but also sees more and more guests from Europe and the United States. On this remarkable evening, four sessions follow one another: Chinese Modern Paintings, Royal Art of Qianlong Period and Modern & Contemporary Chinese Arts. In the first session, 30 stunning paintings by Xu Beihong, Qi baishi, Zhang Daqian and so on cause furious bidding. And the top-selling lot is Ten Horses drawn by Xu Beihong that sold for CNY£¤15.12 Million. Although this piece is not a big-scale one, however, it is one of quite few masterpieces so far available in private hands which Xu depicted ten horses in one painting. In together with other 29 important pieces, the total sale of Modern Chinese Paintings reached nearly 77 million RMB. In the second session, ten royal art collectibles crafted in Qianlong Period of Qing Dynasty also brought about an amazing result of 43 million RMB as a total. Besides the pair of Zitan Cabinet, the inscribed jade thumb ring and the famille-rose figure of amitayus are also worth of mentioning, and they were finally hammer at 1.68 million and 2.128million respectively after several rounds of marathon bidding. However, the category which demonstrated the strongest performance is still Modern & Contemporary Chinese Art, for which Poly Auction gets its reputation in this industry. And most foreign buyers came just because of their huge interests in Contemporary Chinese Art and Realism oil paintings drawn by Chinese artists. The highlight of this session is undoubtedly the Hibiscuses by Wu Guanzhong. Embodying the splendid skills, Hibiscuses was eventually sold at 39.2 million RMB, taking the center stage of the session. And Chen Danqing¡¯s National Study Institute was also hammered at a new world auction record for the artist. Artists such as Fang Lijun, Liu Ye and Zeng Fanzhi continued to rule the landscape of contemporary Chinese art. With the strong bidding in the room and by the telephone, two pieces by Fang Lijun and Zeng Fanzhi were both sold over 10 million RMB and the Little Sailorman by Liuye was sold at 7.168 million RMB, twice above its pre-sale estimate. The oil paintings done by artists like Mao Yan and Shi Chong also received warm welcome by private buyers and collectors. Shi Chong¡¯s The Gratified Young Man and Mao Yan¡¯s Portarit of Xiaoka both fetched over or near 10 million RMB, which lift them to the A-list of Chinese Artists. The insiders remark that Poly¡¯s evening sale has already become a brand for domestic auction industry. Its diversity of choices and high qualities meet the demands of both buyers and market, contributing a lot to the prosperity of the art market of China. Combined with other 11 sales, this year¡¯s Poly Autumn Auction totaled a record of 0.86 billion RMB, giving Poly staff a strong confidence to next year¡¯s auction serving our clients and art lovers.