This Day, That Year

Item from April 27, 1992, in China Daily: China will sponsor an auction of relics and antiques in October marking the first time the country has sanctioned the sale of items made before 1795.

The central government has been stepping up efforts to curb the sale of illegally obtained Chinese relics by auction houses, collectors and museums.

Last year, the State Administration of Cultural Relics issued a regulation banning the auction of stolen, smuggled or looted cultural relics.