Shanghai Museum is displaying 233 ancient paintings and calligraphic works donated by the family of the late Chinese Philippine tycoon Ching Banlee.

The art works,ranging from Song Dynasty about 1,000 years ago to modern times,are believed to make up the largest collection of its kind to be donated to Chinese state museums by overseas Chinese for five decades.

Shan Guolin,director of the department of painting and calligraphy studies at the museum,described the works as "priceless top-notch art works."The beauty of Ching's collection is that it includes masterpieces in almost all types of Chinese painting,namely,figures,landscape,and flowers-and-birds,he said.

Ching began collecting masterpieces back in the 1930s.Unfortunately,his sudden death in 1965 during a trip to Los Angles prevented him from realizing his long-cherished aspiration to return the art works he had collected to China,his family members said.

Ching's children decided to donate his collection to the Shanghai Museum during an October 1996 visit to the then newly-built museum which is one of the best museums in China.

At the exhibition's opening ceremony,Ching's oldest son,Alfredo Ching,and his daughter Rita C.Tan were awarded the White Yulan Award for special contributions to Shanghai,for their role in the donation of the collection.

( eastday.com June 27, 2002)