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Daniel Moss


The Sotheby’s fine Chinese painting auction drew gasps this week with the sale of Peach Blossom Spring by Zhang Daqian for HK$240 million.
The landscape painting, considered one of the artist’s most important works, was predicted to sell for HK$65 million, including the buyer’s premium.
But it had already reached more than twice that when the buyer, later revealed to be from billionaire former mainland taxi driver Liu Yiqian’s Long Museum, phoned in.
It sparked applause in the bidding room, which soon turned to disbelief as the price rose higher and bidders dropped out.
“This is crazy,” said a buyer on the floor.
The bidding finally ended with the jaw-dropping sum, which didn’t even include the buyer’s premium of HK$31 million.
Since the expensive painting has found a new owner, here are eight other things that cost HK$240 million, or US$30 million.
1. Tuvalu for ten months

The South Pacific island’s gross domestic product for a year is US$38 million or HK$295 million, so for the cost of a treasured landscape painting the entire island of Tuvalu – with its roughly 11,000 inhabitants – could be hired to do your bidding. In theory.
2. The Golden Gate Bridge (in 1933)

It’s a work of art in its own right. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge was estimated to cost US$35 million to construct in 1933.
3. 133,334 acres on the moon

Location is everything, and for that peerless view of the earth one can only look to the moon for property. According to the International Lunar Lands Registry a 10-acre block in the Sea of Tranquility, the landing stage for the Apollo 11 mission, costs US$225. So you could get 133,334 of those acres for your HK$240 million.
4. 75 Lamborghini Aventadors


Everyone wants the red one, surely, but for the price of a good painting a fleet of hot supercars could be bought.
5. The Aster 15 surface-to-air missile system


This short-range missile is perfect for defending battleships from being hit by other supersonic missiles, as well as shooting down other projectiles before they hit your base. The missile comes at a bargain price of US$27 million for a battery of defensive capability. We’d prefer the painting.
6. 12,500,000 Big Macs

Feeding the poor would be better than buying a missile, and as one commenter at the Freakonomics blog pointed out, the density of calories contained in this family of gut-busters (they referenced the less calorific Double Cheeseburger) would provide the most bang for buck when trying to nourish people.
7. Kelletteria

This Peak mansion at 71 Mt Kellett Road is currently listed on Squarefoot.com.hk for HK$210 million. It’s ready for a pool party and has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
8. The mansion of Google’s Eric Schmidt, where Kim Kardashian wed Kris Humphries

The Montecito, California, address could be had for US$30 million, according to Variety, but we understand the celebrity couple paid a fraction of the price to rent the place for the culmination of their brief linkage.


Peach Blossom Spring sold for HK$240 million ... here are eight other things you can buy for that much

This is how Tuvalu treated Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge on their visit in 2012. Imagine you paid their wages. Photo: AFP

The setting moon is seen in a photograph taken by Expedition 47 Flight Engineer Tim Peake of the European Space Agency (ESA) from the International Space Station on March 28, 2016 and released by NASA on April 4, 2016. Picture taken March 28, 2016. REUTERS/ESA/NASA/Handout via Reuters THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

This handout image shows Peach Blosson Spring, by Zhang Daqian. PHOTO / Courtesy of Sotheby's [01APRIL2016 FEATURES ONLINE]

***PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE REUSE*** Friends play on a wharf beside a commercial fishing boat on Sunday afternoon on Funafuti - the atol that forms the capital of the country of Tuvalu. 10 June 2012. Post Magazine, 09 SEPT 2012

Tom Friedman's sculpture "Big Big Mac" hangs on April 9, 2015 at the exibition of Arts and Foods at the Triennale of Milan. AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION, TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

Kelletteria, town house development by Sun Hung Kai group at 71 Mount Kellett Road -- pool

Waves crash against a sea wall in San Francisco Bay beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California December 16, 2014. A gale warning for offshore winds has been issued through Friday as another round of storms is expected to hit the Bay Area. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Sotheby’s sets two new records with Chinese painting and rare diamond in Hong Kong auction

The ‘De Beers Millennium Jewel 4’, a rare Oval Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond weighing 10.10 carats – the largest oval fancy vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction Photo: AFP

Zhang Daqian’s Splashed-Ink-and-Colour painting "Peach Blossom Spring" fetch a record-high of HKD240,000,000 at Sotheby's Fine Chinese Paintings Spring Sale 2016 held at HKCEC, Wan Chai. 05APR16 SCMP/Nora Tam

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From the biggest to the rarest, the going rate for a Zhang Daqian could buy a lot
