Shanghai private museum dazzles visitors

In Shanghai, a brand new museum has unveiled its wonders to the public! The Long or Dragon Museum opened in the Pudong district on Tuesday and is the largest private museum in China. It is funded by one of the country's top entrepreneurs.

The sheer range of materials here makes it hard to believe that this is a private collection.

The exhibits span from quaint traditional works from more than 1000 years ago, all the way to the hottest contemporary paintings. The extraordinary diversity is more like what you would find in an institutional collection.

Xiao Gu, vice director of Shanghai Oil Painting & Sculpture Institute, said, "This is the best private museum I've ever seen in China, everything from exhibits, layout to lighting are all very impressive."

What's even more impressive is that this is only a small fraction of Mr Liu Yiqian's collection. Mr Liu is the owner of the museum, and an outstanding entrepreneur. He has been in the business of art collection since 1992.

Museum owner Liu Yiqian said, "It takes more than 7 million yuan annually to run the exhibition, and we are not aiming for profit. I was already prepared to suffer a deficit before I even began. We want people to benefit from this museum and provide a lasting cultural legacy for the public. "

The museum is open free of charge to teachers, students, elderly and the physically challenged. This charitable attitude has been applauded by art critics.

Art critic Jia Fangzhou said, "I'm delighted to see private collectors contribute to the cultural development of our society. It is great that we have people with a vision not fixed on profit but on inspiring people to think and appreciate. I think this is the most meaningful type of investment there is."

The current exhibition will run until April 30th next year.