An art enthusiast looks at a chromogenic print entitled "One Day in 2004 No. 6"
© AFP Frederic J. Brown

BEIJING (AFP) - The painting, which depicts the controversial Three Gorges Dam, in Hubei province, was sold Tuesday in Beijing for 22 milllion yuan to a Chinese businesswoman, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.

The painting had been expected to raise 6.8 million yuan.

According to the report, the previous record was held by a painting by Chen Danqing, which sold three months ago at Sotheby's in New York for 1.47 million dollars.

Liu is the son of filmmaker Jia Zhangke, who made a documentary "Dong" following the artist in the Three Gorges region, where China has built a huge dam across the Yangtse river forcing the removal of several million people.

Jia's last film, "Sanxia Haoren" ("Still Life"), which won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, was also filmed in the same region.

©AFP