A hanging scroll by landscape ink master Fu Baoshi (1904-65) is expected to attract bids of up to 12 million yuan (US$1.5 million) at an art auction in Beijing today.

About 500 pieces of ancient, modern and contemporary paintings will go under the hammer at the Beijing Forever International Auctions at the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel.

"Pandas," ink painting by Wu Guanzhong.

A spectacular set of 12 hanging scrolls of birds-and-flowers ink paintings by Li Kuchan (1898-1983); an elegant, coloured ink painting depicting a cluster of blossoming chrysanthemum, created by Lin Fengmian (1900-91), and a pair of lovely pandas painted on Chinese rice paper by Lin's talented student Wu Guanzhong (1919-) are among the highlights of the sale, according to Liu Xinhui, an art expert with the auction house.

Among them, Fu Baoshi's imposing hanging scroll, entitled "Landscape Inspired by Tang Dynasty Poet Du Fu's Sentiments," is widely believed to be an iconic work the veteran artist painted in his Jingangpo period of artistic creation during the World War II in Southwest China's Chongqing. The rare offering is estimated at 10-12 million yuan or US$1.25-1.5 million.

Most of Li Kuchan's well-known hanging scrolls of birds-and-flowers works are single pieces, which makes this rarely seen set of 12 scrolls very precious for art collectors, critics say.

Lin's chrysanthemums, very much like an oil work, is actually done with ink and colour on rice paper in the 1950s. The impressive work was rendered in a whole new approach by the Chinese ink master, one of the early pioneers who made successful efforts to combine concepts, techniques from both West and East to achieve the desirable visual effects in their painting works.

As a result, the painting appeals to the viewers for its sculpture-like texture, and eye-refreshing colouring, underlying the artist's inner peace and tranquility.

This small piece is estimated at 0.9-1.1 million yuan (US$114,000-139,000).

What might also attract attention from the collectors are 30 selected calligraphic and painting works from Beijing connoisseur Xin Guanjie's Ceng Jing Tang collection.

Most of these works were created by well-known artists of the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), Wang Duo (1592-1652), Fu Shan (1605-90), Wang Hui (1632-1717), Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715) and Zheng Banqiao (1693-1765).

Expected to fetch over 8 million yuan or US$1 million, many of the works have remained in the hands of the same collector for the past half century.

The income from this auction of the Ceng Jing Tang collection works will all be donated to build a Confucius Studies Institute based in Nishan, believed to be the birthplace of Confucius, near Qufu, in East China's Shandong Province , according to Xin.