Source: CCTV.com

04-13-2008 15:09

In the last several years, China has been intensifying efforts to recover lost cultural relics. And over 150 relics smuggled to Denmark two years ago are the latest additions to the list of recovered items. Thanks to the cooperation of the Danish police the relics are now on display in Beijing.

Acrobat figurine, one of the relics.  (Xinhua Photo)

The items are mostly pottery figurines dating as far back as the Xia dynasty, over three thousand years ago. The most recent were made during the Ming dynasty.

Song Xinchao, director museum dept., State Admin. of Cultural Heritage, said, "The relics were mostly unearthed from ancient tombs in Shaanxi, Shanxi and Sichuan provinces, and smuggled overseas during the 1990s."

Experts say the pottery figurines are genuine works of art depicting the society of their time. And they also served as inspiration for paintings and historical dramas.

Danish police discovered the artifacts in Denmark's capital of Copenhagen two years ago.

There are still more than 10-million pieces which are a part of China's cultural heritage in various countries all around the world. Some are in museums in Europe, the US, South America and Southeast Asia. And China is set on putting a stop to the illegal smuggling of its cultural relics.

 

Editor:Du Xiaodan