China's auction season has kicked off, with all major houses holding their events this month. China's premier auction house Guardian will open next week. Our reporter Song Yaotian has the story. 

First up for the ancient Chinese art category, are four calligraphy works and paintings which were recorded by Shi Qu Bao Ji. Shi Qu Bao Ji is a book compiled during the Qing dynasty, cataloguing art works collected by the royal court.

Most of the works recorded in the book are stored at the Beijing and Taipei Palace Museum, while only three hundred pieces of the collection are owned by private collectors.

A rare opportunity for collectors as these four items set to go under the hammer at the auction. Meanwhile, there are many masterpieces on offer in the contemporary ink painting category. There are ten works by Fu Baoshi, and several works by Xu Beihong, including this one with three horses and a lion drawing. There are also works by Li Keran, Huang Binhong and Qi Baishi. All of them are ink painting masters.

SONG YAOTIAN BEIJING "Guardian auction is continuing its momentum this season, with 6,000 lots which ranging over seven categories. This vibrancy is also in accordance with the world auction market, which took a turn for better two years ago after the global economic slowdown in 2008."

Over in the ancient book category, a book series printed during the Song dynasty, which was kept by Kuomintang general Cao Kun, is the top highlight.

SONG HAO, MANAGER DEPT. OF ANCIENT BOOKS, GUARDIAN AUCTION "This book series has been secretly kept during its thousand year history, not seen in any records. And it is one of a kind. 51 books of this collection combined with four separate books in the museums, are what we only have of this book."

There's also a royal vase from Qianlong's reign and a royal bowl from Yongzheng's reign in the Chinese porcelain category.

Other categories and items include ancient furniture, a Chinese zither, seals, and signed photos of celebrities.

HU YANYAN CEO, GUARDIAN AUCTION "The market has grown steadily in recent years. Every year attention accumulates in some of our segments. And every year we have pieces sold at sky-high prices. Other things worth mentioning are new collectors continuing to spring up, around 30 percent are new collectors every year. And many buyers are not only buying these pieces for making money, but for appreciating and collecting valuable art."

The preview of Chinese oil paintings was held earlier on Sunday. For the first time ever, this segment was held separately, outside the main venue, and instead at the Guardian's newly built Art Center.

200 plus pieces are up for grabs and experts say Xu Beihong's "Yu Gong Moves Away the Mountains" is expected to be at the top of this year's auction.