Chinanews, Hong Kong, Dec. 13 – Chinese paintings have outperformed diamonds, contemporary Iranian paintings, modern photographers and ancient paper money to have become investors' favorite collections in overseas market. While collection market sees a general slump season due to stock fluctuations, modern Chinese art has won investors' favor, according to the latest issue of the Forbes magazine. However, industrial insiders warn that as the prices of these art pieces soar, investors are faced with a great risk, the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po reported.These contemporary Chinese paintings are usually sold at more than one million US dollars at international auction market, with the works by Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun, the 1990s generation of artists, being most successful. Their performance is especially noteworthy, considering the fact that the international collection market has slumped currently.This shows that foreign collectors have begun to turn their attention to Chinese artworks. Compared with traditional Chinese paintings, the artworks by contemporary Chinese artists are easier to understand and therefore more acceptable to international investors. The works of Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun are typified by the painters’ mocking political contents and idols. From aesthetic point of view, these works, classified as the school of cynical realism, appeal to the taste of foreigners for the way they view Chinese society.Boosted by foreign market, domestic art market has also entered a booming season since 2003. Statistics show that in the 2006 Spring Auction Fair, transaction volume at four Chinese auction companies, namely, the China Guardian Auctions, China Council Auctions, the Poly Auction and Beijing Chengxuan Auction Co., Ltd., reached 1.301 billion yuan, and such transaction volume further hit 1.724 billion yuan in 2007, increasing by 33%.China might see a booming season in art sales at next year's spring auction season. By then, lots of Chinese artworks will be sold at exceptionally high prices at the auction fair. If domestic collectors do not accept their high prices, the fever of art collection will inevitably cool down then.