With auction prices soaring and hundreds of new studios, galleries and private art museums springing up everywhere, artists from all over the world are cashing in on the China action. Even shopping centers have become art venues. More than 500 Russian oil paintings are now exhibited at Shin Kong Place. Most of the works have been selected from the 2008 Russian Oil Painting Exhibition held in Moscow.

"Russian oil painting has a long tradition and has influenced many Chinese artists among whom some are teaching at the Central Academy of Fine Arts," says Min Li, the exhibition's organizer, who has been running the Jing Yi Yuan Russian Oil Painting Gallery in Beijing for eight years. Min, who studied oil painting in Russia, brought her professors' works to Beijing when she started her gallery. "I realized that there are many people who like Russian artworks thanks to historical reasons," she says. "Now, China is opening its art door to the world. It is also important to bring in foreign art works and absorb more knowledge."

Min has five branches of the gallery in Beijing, displaying more than 700 oil paintings from different eras. "Russian art has undergone an exciting renaissance that has produced a new generation of painters while maintaining traditions," Min says. The Russian oil painting exhibition will last till May 11. For those looking for more art from abroad, head to the galleries of Beijing's 798 art district.

Then there is also the 5th China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE 2008), one of China's biggest cultural events, which will be held at the China World Trade Center Exhibition Hall in Beijing from April 24 to 28, to promote "Internationalism, Professionalism and Futurism."

This year's CIGE has received applications from more than 300 galleries around the world. Eighty percent of the galleries are not from the Chinese mainland. Among the five projects planned is Mapping Asia is new to this year. Providing a peek into the future of contemporary Asian art, CIGE has invited 33 young Asian artists, who are at the forefront of the contemporary art scene.

At the Alternative Energy and Video Loops section, visitors will see how digital signals and new media are infused into art.

"CIGE is a platform to communicate for artists from around the world. It is not simply an art festival or art affair," says Wang Yihan, the executive director of CIGE. "Since our founding in 2004, our aim is go international."

According to Wang, among the participating galleries last year, 40 percent were from China. This year, just 25 percent are from China.

"CIGE is keeping pace with artistic developments from around the world. 2006 saw the rise of India and 2007's CIGE had Indian galleries and artworks. 2008's CIGE will focus on Russia," says Wang.

(China Daily April 19, 2008)