Chairman Mao Zedong is pictured on his last flight in 1957, taken by Hou Bo.

Chinese people gather during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in this photo taken by Shi Shaohua in 1938.

Jiang Qing's Lushan Xian Ren Dong photo is taken at Lushan Mountain in 1961. Photos: Courtesy of Huachen Auction

Still photography is an established sector in the art auction market for many overseas countries, but it is still relatively new for the Chinese market. Yet, after emerging just a few years ago, the art form has already drawn a lot of attention from collectors and investors in China.

This year, historic images emphasizing Chinese revolutionary periods from the 1930s to the 60s, also known as "red classics," created quite a buzz at the Huachen 2013 Autumn Auction in November.

In the collection is an old image taken by Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao Zedong's wife. This photo, named Lushan Xian Ren Dong (Lushan Mountain Fairy Cave) was taken in 1961 when Jiang accompanied Mao to Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province for a conference.

The beautiful mountains and the use of light and shadows in this photo were highly praised by Mao at the time that it was taken, and he even wrote a poem to accompany the photo. The photograph was originally published under the name Li Jin in the first issue of magazine Xin She Ying (new photography) in 1968.

Given this rich historical background, the photo was auctioned off for 391,000 yuan ($64,200), 26 times higher than its valuation. At the same auction, there were also images illustrating events from the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945) and China's War of Liberation (1945-1949).

With a total sales turnover of over 13 million yuan ($2.15 million), and a turnover rate of 79.49 percent, both figures hit a new record high, according to Huachen Auction's data.

Selling points

In an interview with the Global Times, Li Xin, manager of the image department at Huachen Auction, said that "red classics" are the running theme for Huachen's annual image auction.

She refers to a company auction in 2006, when the original copy for the portrait of Chairman Mao that hangs on Tiananmen Gate prompted intense competition among buyers - a 45-minute bidding war between two buyers ended with a  726,000 yuan-sale. 

Besides documentary photography, contemporary photography is also gaining in popularity. Contemporary photographs can even sell for a much higher price than old, period photos, depending on their artistic quality and size.

But four key criteria are crucial for setting a valuation on photos: artistic quality, subject interest, historical purpose and quality of the print, which is especially important for dated photos.

Jiang's photo met all of these.

 Lushan Mountain is crucial to Chinese history. Two important meetings were held separately at Lushan in 1958 and 1961, and Jiang accompanied Mao both times.

A series of major decisions and subsequent movements, which had profound effects on the country, resulted from these meetings in the following years, such as the anti-rightist movement that started in 1958, and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

Essentially, the photo was taken in a crucial place, in a crucial period for Chinese history, and contained two important figures, Mao and Jiang.

Additionally, Mao encouraged Jiang to study photography, if she was to be less meddled into politics. That gave the photo a certain level of artistic quality.

Li also said that the photo was preserved well, which no doubt contributed to its high net worth.

 "When just reading words, everyone will get a different idea about an event. But when seeing a photo, everyone gets a clear idea of what happened. Photos are the best way to present history," said Li.

It is precisely why "red classics" are always so popular at auctions, she said.

"Many of the buyers are people who have lived through the 50s and 60s, and have experienced those events first-hand." said Li, adding that these art buyers see the photographs as a way to "preserve memories."

Not to mention that such memories and facts, captured by a photographer's camera lens, also play a significant role in reproducing historical details.

Li revealed that a major portion of their buyers comprise organizations, such as museum and art galleries. In some cases, the images are the only evidence of missing links in history.

Budding market

In Huachen's 2006 auction, it introduced an auction specially for images, including documentary photography and contemporary photography, filling a gap in China's art auctions. It is considered the first photography auction on the Chinese mainland.

But, trailblazing hasn't always been easy, said Li, admitting that in the early years, few buyers were willing to spend large amounts of money on still photography.

She said images of Michael Jordan were a tough sell in China in 2007. Two photographic portraits of the US basketball star, signed by three celebrities - photographer Marc Hauser, producer Jack Leb and the athletic legend himself - were expected to each sell between 500,000 yuan to 600,000 yuan. But, in the end, uninterested buyers passed them up.

While the situation today is no longer so dire, the process is still gradual, with the total sales turnover rate growing by about 30 percent each year. Last year, the annual sales turnover for photos exceeded 100 million yuan, but for this year's autumn season, total sales turnover has already hit 250 million yuan.

"Other countries had 40 years to develop this market. But within the past few years, we've already reached the same level in terms of growth rates," said Li.

Li said that while Chinese people traditionally prefer to invest in ancient paintings or written works, the limited number of "red classics" has pushed buyers to invest heavily in photographs, even in those priced at more than 100 million yuan a piece.