Tomb raiders targeted to safeguard nation's precious cultural heritage

Authorities are determined to capture and punish professional criminals who break into ancient graves and steal age-old treasures, as Zhang Yan reports.

Turning a corner near a cornfield in Dahan, a village in Tengzhou city, Shandong province, brings visitors to a stone monument bearing the words "Dahan Village Relics", alongside a 3-meter-deep pit that is part of a despoiled ancient tomb.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, 20 members of two criminal gangs raided the site four times in less than three months last year, stealing 229 cultural relics, comprising 169 bronzes and 60 jade items.