With consumer prices creeping upward, a bearish stock market, and foggy housing prospects, you might be wondering where to invest your hard-earned money. Well, some folks in Shanghai think they have the answer. The Shanghai Art Fair is underway again and this year the slogan is "art is fortune!"

The 15th anniversary of the Shanghai Art Fair kicked off in the World Trade Mall on Wednesday. 155 galleries from 12 countries have brought a wide assortment of fine art works, including oil paintings, traditional Chinese paintings, watercolor paintings, woodblocks, sculptures, photographs, as well as porcelain wares.

At the entrance of the fair, two giant red peppers stand tall and upright, with their bodies tangling into each other, as if dancing to a wonderful tango melody. Around them are scattered nine small peppers, each in a unique shape and color.

This large-scale sculpture called "Happy Tango" is created by Kumari Nahappan, an Indian artist who studied at the University of Arts London. Her work is greatly shaped by Hindu philosophy, in which red pepper is an auspicious symbol to ward off evil.

Kumari Nahappan, Indian artist, said, "I think red pepper is symbol for powerful, strong."

The work has been bought by a Singaporean for six million Yuan, or a bit less that one million U.S. dollars.

Earlier on the preview day, many works were labeled with a red spot, which means "purchased."

European Fine Art Fair reported in February that China had surpassed the UK to become the second largest art market in the world. A few months later, Artprice, an American art market authority, declared that China had topped the list.

With a booming market in China, "art is fortune" is already more than a slogan.