Classical Chinese paintings and calligraphy have nabbed over 94 million U.S. dollars at an auction held at the Guardian Art Center in Beijing Monday night.

The auction, entitled "Grand View: Chinese Painting Highlight: Modern," is one section of the ongoing China Guardian Autumn Auctions 2019. A total of 81 pieces of artwork were sold at the nearly four-hour auction.

The most expensive painting went to "Pine after Rain," which was sold for over 29 million U.S. dollars. Made in 1958, it's a masterpiece of Chinese renowned late painter Pan Tianshou (1897-1971). The wash painting, better known as "Chu Qing" in Chinese, was made based on the landscape at the Hangzhou Overseas Chinese Hotel.

The 1.4-meter-high, 3.64-meter-wide painting hung at the hotel for 20 years until 1979 when it was put in storage in order to protect it from abrasion. At the auction, it's the first time for the piece to appear in public in 40 years. Experts say Pan broke the traditional rules for Chinese painting and made a perfect combination of landscape painting and flower-and-bird painting in this work.

Last year, Pan also topped the list at the China Guardian Autumn Auctions with his 1963 piece "View from the Peak" selling for 41 million U.S. dollars.

The wash painting "Jinggang Mountain" by Li Keran (1907-1989) became the second most expensive painting Monday night, with an auction price of 19.6 million U.S. dollars. Unlike many traditional Chinese landscape paintings, which are often in horizontal scrolls, this piece is in a vertical scroll.

Other paintings include "Autumn Flora" from Qi Baishi (1864-1957), which was auctioned for nearly 3.8 million U.S. dollars, and "Flora and Fruits" by Wu Changshuo (1844-1927), sold for about 3.6 million U.S. dollars.

The China Guardian Autumn Auctions 2019 runs from November 13 to 20. Nearly 6,500 art pieces, ranging from paintings to jade to porcelain, are categorized in 32 different sections.

China has been playing a more and more important role in the world's art auction market. According to the "Art Auction Market – Global Outlook and Forecast 2019-2024" by Reportlinker.com, The U.S., China, and the U.K. account for more than 75 percent of the mid-range segment art market with China taking the lead in terms of value. The report also predicts that the global art auction market is expected to reach over 38 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.