Cui Ruzhuo, a master of Chinese ink painting.[Photo/China Daily]

And Cui isn't just critically acclaimed. The total auction turnover from his landscape paintings reached 470 million yuan ($72 million) in 2014, making him one of the country's most prosperous living artists.

Last year, he broke his own record when he earned 900 million yuan from sales of his works.

At the inauguration of his show on Thursday, Cui announced a donation of 100 million yuan to the Palace Museum to further its efforts at preserving cultural heritage.

He had earned the amount recently from a real estate tycoon, who bought one of his scroll paintings.

Cui has himself collected ancient Chinese paintings since the 1980s.

"It's not necessary to link an artist's commercial success with his or her artistic achievements, but Cui has his reasons to be so successful," says Shao Dazhen, a veteran art critic.

"He pays much attention to the modern development of traditional Chinese painting and, therefore, has a solid basis."

Born in Beijing, Cui lived in the United States for 15 years, but his works show little Western influence.

"For a Chinese artist, it's important to see what the gist of our original culture is," he told reporters at the opening of his exhibition.