Art serves work and pleasure for Christie's China president

Before the interview, Caroline Cai Jinqing was in conference preparing for the Spring Auction in Shanghai starting on April 26. It's an important event in Christie's China's corporate year.

Cai is now heads Chinese operations for the world's leading auction house that she joined in 2012.

Christie's' Chinese milestone came in April last year when it was licensed for independent operations on the mainland. It was the first sole-funded foreign fine art auction house to get that government approval.

Cai was born and grew up in Beijing. She went to Peking University before transferring to Wellesley College in the US. Graduation was from Princeton University with a master's in international public affairs management.

She worked for about a decade in public relations before joining Christie's.

Cai loved art from an early age and took art history as an elective course in the US. Before Christie's, she and her circle of friends in the art field would hang out, visiting galleries and museums together.

She's a sports fan, a former member of the Beijing diving training team and played US college basketball.

She no longer plays basketball, using her time instead to jog and practice yoga.

Trips to new cities take in museums or galleries. It's tough for her to name a favorite, saying every one has its own style.

"Each art space would bring to the viewers different experience and inspirations," Cai said. "There doesn't exist the matter of which one is better."

"Diversity is what art has and is an integral part of art," she said.

It seems a miraculous and perfect chance for her; joining Christie's, where she can combine interests with work.

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