Works by young Chinese artists on display at online store Artpollo.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"Art has no standards to measure. But we want to select good works for our online users first, so we gather scores from hundreds of judges and show the average score to consumers so as to help them make their purchase decisions," says Hao.

Prices of works sold on Artpollo range from 5,000 to 50,000 yuan, targeting young art lovers and other age groups that buy paintings and sculptures for their houses. The platform's total sales from artworks has already touched 40 million yuan, says Hao.

Her team of around 40 people brought in an investment of more than 21 million yuan last year from real estate giants like Wantong and furniture retailer Red Star Macalline. Their buyers have since overshot the initial target numbers given by the investors, with more young middle-class Chinese buying art for their homes.

Artpollo's research shows that most art buyers are from big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. About half of the clients make multiple purchases as well.

"Compared with other industries, the art market is still very traditional in China. But online art shops or trading platforms are enabling more Chinese to have access to art," she says.

Zhang Rui, a collector who has bought lots of museum-level artworks, says he has yet to start buying art online. But some of his friends have joined the trend.

"I want to see more aspects of the works I decide to buy. So, auction houses are my major channels of collection. But maybe, I will try buying online sometime," says Zhang.

Interest in art is rising in China, says collector Tang Ju, and it is a good time for online art shops and auction houses.

"Everyone else has bought art. I also want to have some now that I have a house," he quotes his driver as saying.

"The market is promising," says Tang.