The National Palace Museum refuted claims its painting "Upper River During Qing Ming Festival" is a fake. Lou Wei, deputy director general of the museum's culture heritage management office, says the paiting was proven to be authentic long ago.

(Upper River During Qing Ming Festival)

Bo Gongyue, marketing chief of the Beijing administration of cultural heritage, declared the painting was an imitation and the real one was lost. Regardless, he added the high-quality imitation is worth a lot. Without it, it would be impossible for ordinary people to experience the painting anymore.

One of the most important paintings in Chinese art, it depicts urban life in the city of Kaifeng during the Northern Song period (960 -1127). The long watercolor landscape scroll on silk was created by the royal artist Zhang Zeduan. The painting vividly depicts the Qing Ming, or Tomb Sweeping, Festival in Kaifeng

(CRIENGLISH.com August 31, 2006)