Photo provided to Shanghai Star.

The Collectors

Chinese animation characters exhibited in Shanghai

A glimpse at the art lost on 9/11

Collecting artwork has become a popular pastime for China's wealthy, and ancient Chinese calligraphy and paintings have been gaining in popularity.

Art is the most popular form of alternative investment by the Chinese super rich, followed by jewelry, jade, fine wine and watches, according to the annual China Passion Investments White Paper, co-released by Industrial Bank Co Ltd and Hurun Report at the end of 2013.

The art trade began to flourish in China in 2010, with the volume of art investment in the country overtaking that of the United States for the first time, accounting for a third of the world's total.

China remained the world's largest art market in 2011, worth 96.8 billion yuan, 3.7 times that of 2008 and taking up about 40 percent of the world's volume, according to the Beijing-based Art Market Monitor of Artron.

Meanwhile, more wealthy people are becoming interested in collecting art, and even getting personally involved in art-related activities. In order to become an informed investor, many wealthy people are taking part in art appreciation courses or even art classes where they learn to paint.