'Drunken Beauty' hailed by Hong Kong

The 2010 China National Quintessence Oil Painting Art Exhibition, with Drunken Beauty heading the list, has been hailed as an art exhibition of the "highest standard and largest scale in the history of Hong Kong's art exhibition" by the Hong Kong media.

The exhibition will "further boost cultural exchange among the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, raise the national spirit, and promote the revival of Chinese culture", said Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and former chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong and Elsie Leung, former secretary for justice in Hong Kong, were each given a silk-embroidered version of Drunken Beauty. Leung auctioned hers for HK$128,000 ($16,500), with all the money going to charities in Hong Kong.