Zeng Qinghong steps back into the spotlight, visiting Shanghai museum

Former vice-president Zeng Qinghong appeared in public yesterday, the latest former leader to step briefly back into the limelight.

The rare public appearance by Zeng, 74, comes amid speculation about whether corruption investigations will expand to other former senior leaders or their protégés.

Zeng visited the Han Tianheng Art Museum in Shanghai and was joined by Jiang Mianheng, the son of former president Jiang Zemin, and the city's Communist Party chief, Han Zheng .

Former top politicians usually stay out of the limelight after they retire, but several former senior officials have shown up in public in recent weeks.

Analysts have suggested the appearances may be a way to voice support for the current state leadership or to offer comfort to former allies, some of whom were said to be targets of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. Zeng and the senior Jiang are close allies.

Zeng appeared to be in good spirits and stayed for about an hour at the museum, according to staff. He is reportedly a friend of Han Tianheng, a painter and calligrapher, and they were said to have talked about Chinese antiquities.

The director of the museum, Zhu Xiaodong , declined to give details of the trip. "It was a private visit," Zhu said. Photographs of the occasion were later posted online.