Six or seven times a year, the company auctions classical and contemporary paintings, porcelain, antiques, rare books, jade, coins and bank notes. Bidding takes place in Beijing next month after this week's Hong Kong preview.

'We emphasise Chinese art and antiques, not Korean or any other country,' says Wang Yannan, managing director of China Guardian. 'There's more variety of names in each category, and we have a rare-book category with manuscripts, documents and rubbings. We even have a whole catalogue on bank notes - something that no one else has done.'

China Guardian's 2006 Autumn Auction Preview will show only a portion of its collection in Hong Kong: mainly Chinese paintings (both classical and contemporary), rare books and coins.

Wang says demand for Chinese art has increased more than eightfold during the past few years. The company's annual turnover was 1.7 billion yuan last year, compared with 200 million yuan in 2002.

Wu Guangzhong's oil painting Snows of Kilimanjaro (above) made an impact during the Cultural Revolution when art was limited to propaganda. The painting pays homage to Chinese workers who helped build a railway in Tanzania.

Other exhibits include leading 1990s artist Liu Xiaodong's Rooftop Swimming Pool (left) and Ni Zan's rare ink bamboo painting, created in 1373. Ni's work is found mainly in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Shanghai Museum.

Today-tomorrow, 10am-6pm, Concord Room, 8/F, 1 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai, free. Inquiries:

2815 2269