Spyplane art banned by China

Culture officials banned the work - a 50-foot long piece depicting part of the stricken EP-3 plane - from an exhibition of new Chinese artists at the Guangdong Province Art Museum.

Artist Huang Yongping, who created the artwork, has accused officials of bowing to US pressure.

But the US Embassy in Beijing has denied any involvement.

"At no time did the US Consulate or US Embassy ask the Chinese authorities to dismantle the EP-3 sculpture," an Embassy spokesperson said.

The spyplane was forced to make an emergency landing on the Chinese island of Hainan after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet early last year.

The Chinese warplane crashed into the sea and its pilot was reported missing, presumed dead.

The 24-man crew of the Navy aircraft spent 11 days under custody before being returned to the US. The plane was later dismantled and sent back to the US.

Huang was told on Friday that the artwork would not be shown. Museum staff then destroyed it, he said.

"The whole process of the incident was very dramatic," Huang said. "It inspired me," he said. "It's just an artwork, a plane model. I didn't mean to hint at something or hurt anybody."

Dali

The incident has been seen as the latest wrangle between a new wave of Chinese artists and a Communist government uneasy with their work.

China has recently opened up to Western art that was formerly banned for showing decadent or offensive themes.

A recent exhibition of celebrated Spanish artist Salvador Dali's work drew thousands of visitors.

China's government has been trying to raise the profile of China's fine art, opera and high-brow artistic forms as the country's economic development gathers pace.