Timeline: Major Chinese cultural relics returned from overseas in recent years

CANBERRA, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) — The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) handed over two Chinese cultural relics to China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration in Canberra on Wednesday.

The two relics are the head of a military official statue and the head of a civil official statue, both dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). According to the NGA, both relics are made of limestone and originated from central China’s Henan Province.

The following is a timeline of major cultural relics returned to China from overseas in recent years:

Sept. 17, 2026:

— The United States returned 64 Chinese cultural relics and paleontological fossils to China.

May 16, 2025:

— The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art officially returned the Zidanku Silk Manuscript volumes II and III: Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan from the Warring States period to China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration.

Nov. 9, 2024:

— A total of 56 lost Chinese cultural relics were returned from Italy.

June 27, 2024:

— The Chinese Embassy in Argentina received 14 pieces of cultural relics returned to China from the South American country.

April 18, 2024:

— China’s relentless quest to retrieve lost cultural relics from overseas received a significant boost, as 38 artifacts were returned by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The prized haul comprises mainly Tibetan Buddhist objects spanning from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Feb. 7, 2024:

— An ancient bronze ritual vessel that had been lost overseas after being stolen 40 years ago finally made its way home.

Unearthed in 1978 at an archaeological site dating back to the late Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) in Famen Township of Baoji City, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, the bronze vessel, named “Feng Xingshu Gui” was classified as the top-grade cultural relic of the state.

May 10, 2023:

— The Consulate General of China in New York received two illegally transported Chinese cultural relics from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

The returned cultural relics are two stone-carved tomb beds dating back about 1,100 to 1,600 years, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

Dec. 1, 2020:

— A bronze horse head sculpture, a treasure of China’s Old Summer Palace that went missing after Anglo-French allied forces’ looting 160 years ago, returned to its original palace home.  ■