Out of Yuanmingyuan complex

To mark the disaster that hit the old Summer Palace or Yuanmingyuan Park 150 years ago, a team of experts, sent to the United States to trace and document relics taken from the park, recently held a photo exhibition on their fact-finding trip.

There were two reasons why this trip went smoothly. First, it was a "harmless" journey because its objective was not to bring the historic relics back, but only to collect information that can be used to set up the Yuanmingyuan Park online. It was more like a scholarly endeavor than treasure hunting.

Second, the open attitude of the American museums was also important. Most museums in the US are open to the public free of charge. They consider their collections as the common heritage of all human beings so they have no reason to refuse the request from Chinese colleagues to visit and study.