The huge demand has also raised questions about the authenticity of the work that is being sold. Rumors are rife that some work by well-known painters is now mass produced, and many galleries do not recommend that collectors buy pieces that have been painted since 2000.
"The market is definitely `buyer beware' now," Batten says. "There is a strong market for fakes and I know of cases of fakes being sold. But these things, and the lack of provenance, will only become apparent when the market crashes."
Despite the downsides, the boom has undoubtedly provided a huge boost to the artistic community. For the first time in a generation artists believe they can make a proper living from producing art, Chang added.
It has also led to more international shows, and more exposure for many Chinese artists, as well as an increase in the number of galleries showing contemporary Chinese art, rather than the traditional antiquities.
Karen Smith, an art historian based in Beijing, is curating a British show at the Tate Liverpool, entitled "The Real Thing," in an effort to show work outside the circle of superstar artists.
"Even three years ago, something like [the exhibition] would have been unimaginable," she said.
Smith believes it is not surprising that some artists are tempted to simply follow the example of their more successful contemporaries in style and subject.
"Chinese museums are so underfunded and there is no real critical culture, so for young artists the price tags are the often the best indicators of how they are doing. It becomes a benchmark to strive for," she said.
Despite the dollar signs being waved in front of them, exciting work is being produced. Ignored by some galleries, young artists in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing are using every nook and cranny to show work that does not conform to the marketable model.
There is also a movement to ensure that contemporary art retains qualities that mark it as specifically Chinese.
Ink painting, often regarded as a staid, traditional form, is being taken up by new artists. The best work is challenging and cutting-edge, blending calligraphy with unusual techniques, but retaining its essential "Chineseness."
A group of like-minded members of the Hong Kong art establishment, including long-time gallery owner Alice King (
"We want to educate the public that it is not a dead art. We do not want to look at the commercial stuff over and over again and for people to think this is what is coming out of China," Ho said. "A lot of the work we are promoting does not have the shock value, but we are looking beyond the first response to something that will last."
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