Former CPPCC chairman Li Ruihuan auctioned off a painting from his art collection for 27 million yuan ($3.9 million) and donated the money to a Tianjin-based "Sangzi" student foundation, chinanews.com reported Wednesday.

Li is the former chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

"Northland Scenery" was painted by the famous artist Wu Guanzhong and was given to Li as a gift in 1979, according to the artist.

Li donated 538,000 yuan ($78,000) to 19 universities in Tianjin municipality from1996-2006 and has supported 148 poor students from 31 provinces and autonomous regions. He founded the "Sangzi" student foundation in 2004 and raised over 7 million yuan ($1 million) in the past five years, the report said.

Li was born in Tianjin municipality and was the mayor of Tianjin between 1984 and 1987.