This year's spring art auctions begins today with China Guardian, one of China's leading Chinese art auction houses, raising the curtain on the season's sales that are shaping up to be an exciting affair.

A total of 29 auctions will be held during the seven-day event, including traditional Chinese painting, jade wares, modern porcelain, sculpture and contemporary works.

More than 6,600 pieces will go under the hammer at Beijing International Hotel, among which ancient Chinese coins, bronze mirrors and stamps, all hotly pursued in recent years, account for more than half.

Traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy works will be a highlight at the auctions, as prices of these types of works have dramatically increased in the past few years, bucking the doom and gloom of the economic recession.

Last year, several traditional Chinese painting pieces and calligraphy works were sold for more than 100 million yuan (US$15 million) each, considered by art experts and economists as a symbol of the Chinese art market's quick recovery.

China Guardian will offer a range of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy works from the Song (960-1279) to Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, with five different painting schools and six features by individual collectors represented.

Art experts and market researchers are paying close attention to the first spring auctions on the Chinese mainland, the outcome of which will serve as a barometer for the rest of the year's sales.

"It is not only art lovers and collectors, but other auctions houses in and out of China that are looking forward to these spring auctions," commented Zhao Li, director of Art Market Research Center (AMRC), an independent organization devoted to Chinese and international art market research.

Zhao added that since Chinese traditional pieces were extremely hot last year both in the domestic and overseas art markets, concerns have been raised about the market's sustainability and this year's spring auctions will serve as a key indicator to whether the market will continue to soar, or overheat.

Sotheby's spring auctions in Hong Kong held early last month signaled a sound and healthy art market. Although no sky-high prices resulted, the overall turnover was indeed handsome. Total sales of Sotheby's exceeded HK$2 billion (US$26 million), the highest ever for a Hong Kong spring auction, according to a recent report by AMRC.