(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-29 13:47

BEIJING  -- A record price of 57.12 million yuan (US$8.2 million) was realized at an auction for a single Chinese mainland oil painting in Beijing on Monday.

"The Breeding Ground No.1", from the contemporary painter Liu Xiaodong's Three Gorges Series, was bought by a private buyer at the China Guardian 2008 Spring Auction.

The painting, 2.6 meters high and 10 meters wide, was drawn in the Three Gorges area from 2005 to 2006, depicting 11 men in their underwear playing cards.

"I painted the Three Gorges three times. Every time was a personal improvement for me," said Liu, 45, a China Central Academy of Fine Arts graduate.

"Homeless Furniture", an oil painting from 64-year-old Wang Huaiqing, sold for 28 million yuan, a record price for the painter.