The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 3.91 points at 2,903.04.

The index ended at a near two-month high in the previous session on strong hopes that inflation in January due to be released later Tuesday may come below market consensus at 4.9 percent, which may in turn ease tightening concerns.

The Shanghai A-share index gained 0.14 percent, or 4.10 points, to 3,039.82 while the Shenzhen A-share index was up 0.16 percent, or 2.06 points, to 1,322.33.