Sunday, May 25 was a rare day in Beijing -- sunny, warm, clear, beautiful -- and its clarity brought home the enormity of the Sichuan quake. Out at 3 Shadows Photography Art Center, the grass was emerald green, the sky was sapphire blue, and an eclectic cross-section of the city's art and expatriate communities gathered to give back to the country they call home.

    The photographs were hung on the walls without frames. People milled about,  nibbling chocolate-drizzled organic strawberries and somosas, perusing the work and talking with one another about how gorgeous the weather was but how heartbreaking the last two weeks had been. An impromptu shrine was erected in the center of the room, and guests occasionally stopped to light a candle or a stick of incense or to kowtow before a photograph of buildings collapsed by the earthquake.

       By  the end of the afternoon, 3 Shadows had raised more than RMB 560,000 (USD 80,672) auctioning off an array of photographs with opening bids as high as RMB 105,000 (USD 15,126). The event was a "very big success", according to Development Director Jiang Yipeng. The list of artists who donated work included several from Sichuan, such as Xiong Wenyun who donated a series of photographs taken at Wenchuan, the earthquake's epicenter, in 1999. Here's more about the event, including and images of and information about the donated photographs 

    Just a few days later, meanwhile, Poly Group held its art charity auction, featuring a top-drawer list of Chinese artists and organized by two Sichuan-born personalities of the art world.

      Then on Saturday, May 31, Beijing's prestigious Summit Club, which aims to bring cultural sophistication to China's newly rich, hosted the Sichuan Artists Gratitude Concert at Century Theater. Musicians and poets, all from Sichuan -- and some of whom were themselves quake victims -- performed for a crowd of hundreds, playing music by composers ranging from Rachmaninov to Tang Qingshi, conductor of the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra.

     The music was beautiful and the emotion palpable, as each artist poured out his or her heart on stage. Particularly affecting was the majestic "China, My Motherland" sung by baritone Liao Changyong accompanied by the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra. Standing ovations were frequent, and the crowd was obviously moved by the display of national pride and indomitable spirit by their fellow Chinese citizens