Backing tradition in the art market

There is drama at the auction house for contemporary Chinese art pieces these days. A crash in the world's markets has seen a fall in sales for red-hot vanguard artists such as Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi and Fang Lijun.

Contemporary Chinese art works, long held to be overpriced, may not recover any time soon, experts say.

This situation has given traditional Chinese art, ink art in particular, an opportunity to catch up. At the autumn auctions in Beijing, traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy set new records.