Smuggled relics to be sent home

Some 156 Chinese cultural relics smuggled to Denmark two years ago are expected to return to Beijing tomorrow following a local court ruling in February to that effect.

The relics include pottery figurines of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) as well as some rare items dating back to the Xia (2100-1600 BC), Shang (1600-1100 BC), Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, said Song Xinchao, director of the museum department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) at a reception yesterday hosted by the Chinese embassy to Denmark.

"The recovery of these items demonstrates the Chinese government's resolve to seek the return of relics illegally taken overseas," he said.