For me, this year's Asia-Pacific Triennial was the 'Year of China', not only for the large number of resident or ex-pat artists from China, but also for the high visibility and sheer space devoted to their work. The case was clearly and wittily stated by Sang Ye and Geremie Barme's two impressive red columns at the gallery entrance and by the use of Xu Sing's English typeface of mock Chinese characters as a pseudo-translation of the gallery's signage, both works visible from across the river. Cai Guo Qiang's bamboo bridge, Bridge Crossing-Project for the Third Asia-Pacific Triennial (1999) dominated the interior, spanning the Gallery's pool. At present China is aggressively hauling itself into line with the West. Critics from China are cynical of the attention Chinese artists are getting around the world at the moment, with criticism mostly directed at this year's Venice Biennale. They see a 'flavour of the moment' syndrome coming from a fickle international art world. Valid or not, at least it shows that Queensland is up with some sort of play. The most appealing aspect about the new art from China is its transparent quality, having an ease in intention and realisation. It buys into the !ropes of power, imperial and institutional, while deftly denying them. For example, Ye and Barme's Tiananmen Square Hou Biao (1999) columns are signs of an imperial past and dictatorial present and yet were rendered as theme park, cuddly dirigibles in Chinese red. They had a strong resonance set in front of the Queensland Art Gallery, establishing a tone of quick wit and critical positioning that, unfortunately, was not carried through the rest of the exhibition. A staggering number of curators