Cheers to a drinking vessel that's brimming with culture

Editor's Note: Every week we look at a work of art or a cultural relic that puts the spotlight on China's heritage.

The Tang Dynasty (618-907) is praised for its openness and cultural integration with neighboring countries. One proof of this is the Animal Head Agate Vessel.

Excavated in 1970 from Hejia village in rural Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and now kept at Shaanxi History Museum, the vessel is one of the country's top-class cultural relics.