A large number of cultural relics and artworks were auctioned in Tianjin on November 27, bringing in ten million yuan (1.2 million US dollars) in total transactions.

More than 600 highly-collectible cultural relics were put on the auction block in the Tianjin Friendship Hotel by the Tianjin International Auction Co. Fifty-eight percent of the items up for bid were sold.

A pair of pink bowls with lids made in an official kiln from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) sold for 80,000 yuan (more than 9,000 US dollars) after heavy bidding hiked the price over the opening bid of 20,000 yuan.

Another official-kiln-made basin dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1127) was bought for a remarkable price of 1.15 million yuan (over 130,000 dollars) by an anonymous Chinese buyer.

A charitable auction of 802 rare silver coins from the Qing Dynasty, discovered during a renovation project on old buildings in the city, was also held Wednesday. The highest price paid for a single coin was 4,000 yuan (nearly 500 dollars).

Sales from the coin auction will be donated to Project Hope, a national educational campaign which provides financial aid to rural areas in China, according to the organizer.

The coins were unearthed in the 80-year-old courtyard of Meng Luochuan, who is the 69th generation grandson of Mencius (372 B.C.- 289 B.C.), China's well known philosopher, politician and academician during the Warring States Period (403 B.C.-221 B.C.).

Chinese and overseas artworks collectors were noticeably more active in this Tianjin Auction Fair, the last one to be held in this century.