This Day, That Year

Item from Aug 17, 1999, in China Daily: Relics from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), seized from grave robbers last weekend, are on display in Shaanxi province. ... Statistics show that the number of such cases plummeted from 1,651 in 1994 to 218 in 1998. However, police say tomb raiders are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Tomb raiding has long been a major hurdle in protecting the country's historic and cultural relics.

A spate of recent arrests highlights the seriousness of the problem.