The 13th Guangzhou International Art Fair opened on Thursday morning in the capital of south China's Guangdong province. More than 1,000 artists from home and abroad attended the opening ceremony.

Over 10 thousand art pieces are on display in the main exhibition hall. 450 booths occupy an area of 10 thousand square meters. There are exhibitors from China, Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Australia and Russia.

Masterpieces by late renowned Chinese artists Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian and Guan Shanyue are on view to the public for the first time. And contemporary artists also show their focus through painting.

Xie Xiaode, artist from Taiwan, said, "I spent one month on the composition.I referred to pictures of those in charge of rescue work after the May 12th earthquake in Sichuan."

Initiated in 1993, the Guangzhou Art Fair was the first of its kind in China. Today, the event has become one of the top three art fairs in the country alongside those in Beijing and Shanghai.