Five sculptures by a renowned Chinese sculptor Yuan Xikun were shipped from Beijing to New York yesterday for display at a ceremony marking the 60th founding anniversary of the UN later this month.

The five pieces are portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Leonhard Euler, Albert Einstein, Rajiv Gandhi and Charles Darwin.

After the exhibition, the sculptures of Lincoln, Euler and Darwin will be put on display at museums and universities in the US. The other two of Einstein and Rajiv Gandhi are to be put up for charity sale, proceeds of which will be donated to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Yuan said the Chinese were deeply concerned over the disaster in the southern US, and he offers his care and efforts through his art to help victims.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2005)