Cui Ruzhuo (L, 2nd) talks to visitors at an art exhibition.?[Photo/artron.net]

The Beijing Palace Museum has received a donation of 100 million yuan, some $15 million, from the artist Cui Ruzhuo.

It's the biggest cash donation by a single donor to be received by the museum.

The curator Shan Qixiang has expressed his appreciation of the artist's generosity, and the museum's vice-curator Wang Yamin has already set out a tentative plan for how the money might be used.

One fifth will go towards the preservation of relics, with the rest being used for staff training and research.

Cui earned the 100 million yuan by selling one of his paintings to the chairman of Star River Property Holding, Ltd., a real estate company in South China's Guangdong province.

The painter said he owed much to the Palace museum, as he had spent many hours there practising sketching since he was young. He said he wanted to return the favour.

Cui Ruzhuo's painting exhibition at the Palace Museum opened on Thursday and will last until May.