Part of Ming Dynasty painter Wu Bin's long scroll entitled Ten Views of a Fantastic Rock. [Photo provided to China Daily]

5. Ming Dynasty long scroll marks highest auction price

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) painter Wu Bin's long scroll Ten Views of a Fantastic Rock was sold for 512.9 million yuan ($76.6 million) at the 15th Anniversary Celebration of Beijing Poly Auction on Oct 18, marking the highest auction price for ancient Chinese artworks, and also the world's most expensive Chinese artwork this year.

The work, about 28 meters in length, was painted by Wu Bin over one of his friend Mi Wanzhong's Lingbi stones. Lingbi stone is a kind of ornamental rock with rare textures and shapes found in the county of Lingbi in East China's Anhui province.

Wu portrayed the rock from 10 different vantage points, and Mi wrote introductions for each of the views. The painting was created in the early 17th century and Mi's literary friends named it "Feifei Rock", indicating there are abundant possibilities to interpret the rock's special shape.