LU ZHENHAI, an antique collector in Nanshan District, is widely regarded as the "richest" man in China because he owns more ancient coins than anyone else.

Lu, a 53-year-old electrical engineer, has a collection of 5,000 ancient commemorative coins. He also owns valuable bronze, gold, and jade wares. Much of his collection came with bucking China's cultural tides. A Red Guard during the "Cultural Revolution," when other Red Guards were trashing antiques, Lu was collecting them.

Lu's coins range from the primitive money of cowrie shells to the silver coins used in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He also has coins with various patterns and words including stars, blessings and flowers, made from different materials such as bronze, gold, ivory and silver, as well as coins in strange shapes such as a spade and a fish.

Lu's collection even includes several coins with pornographic images, a rare revelation of ancient Chinese sex life. He said such coins originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the most open dynasty in the Chinese history.

"Every commemorative coin has a story behind it," said Lu, who wrote China's first encyclopedia on commemorative coins in 1991 and plans to document the stories behind all the coins.

Lu may be best-known for his coins, but he is also proud of his gold, jade, china, and bronze collections. He was reluctant to mention them for security reasons, however.

Lu has four sets of bell chimes, including a bronze one dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and a jade one from the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). His bedroom houses dozens of ancient bronze wares.

He also has several exquisite jade pieces. One of them, a Tang Dynasty wine cup made of jade and gold leaf, is believed to be the only one in the world. The cup's base is a sculpture of a young woman with an extremely beautiful shape, while on the edge of the cup are two pillars symbolizing two eyes warning people against drinking too much.

Lu said he managed to collect so many antiques because he started early. He began collecting antiques in 1968, when most Chinese were enmeshed in the "Cultural Revolution" and regarded antiques as trash. Lu bought much of his collection at second-hand markets during that time.

Sometimes he would have to borrow money to buy antiques. During the "Cultural Revolution," Lu would persuade other Red Guards to give antiques to him rather than destroy them.

Lu said his most expensive antique cost him less than 100,000 yuan (US$12,330). He cannot afford antiques now because they have become too expensive, he said.

When he moved from his hometown in North China's Liaoning Province to Shenzhen in the 1990s, he had to reserve a first-class railway car to carry his antiques.

Lu never sells his antiques, because he cherishes them. "I need to communicate with the ancient people through my antiques," he said. Unlike ordinary collectors, Lu also likes to do research on his antiques, and record his findings.

Lu is an excellent calligrapher and won many prizes when he was young. His handwritten notes add charm to his collections.

Lu wants to establish a museum after he retires. In fact his home is more a museum than a house, with his collections in almost every corner of the house, leaving only room for beds for the family of three.

Editor: Wing