A painting from Zeng Fanzhi's Mask Series 1996 sold for HK$105 million at Poly's 2017 spring auctions. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Unsurprisingly, a substantial chunk of the world's art purchases in recent years is linked to Hong Kong. What might come as a bit of a surprise though is that the stars of record-breaking sales here have often been overshadowed by the hype over the runner-up. While Zhang Daqian's ink and color painting Peach Blossom Spring made headlines when it earned US$34.7 million at Sotheby's spring auctions in April 2016, the sale of Cui Ruzhuo's The Grand Snowing Mountains for more than US$39.5 million — which is also the highest a painting ever sold for in the local market — only a day before at Poly Auction Hong Kong went relatively unnoticed.

Poly Auction Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Beijing Poly International Auction, has been on a winning spree since it set up shop in the city in 2012. In fact, six out of 10 of the most expensive painting purchases in this city were through Poly. The market survey and analysis portal Artprice reveals that seven out of 10 of the most expensive art pieces sold in Hong Kong last year were placed in the market by mainland auction houses, including Poly. Their success seems sweeter when one considers mainland auction houses now making a splash in the Hong Kong market arrived in the city less than 10 years ago, whereas the multinational heavyweights have been around for much longer (Sotheby's hosted their first Hong Kong sale in 1973) and been in business elsewhere since the 18th century.