Australia Returns Two Cultural Relics to China
The return followed a 2025 request backed by evidence and cooperation under UNESCO rules and a bilateral heritage agreement, officials said.
- Australia returned two Chinese cultural relics to China during a handover ceremony at the National Gallery in Canberra on Wednesday, with the limestone heads dating to the Northern Song Dynasty .
- Originating from Henan Province in China, the limestone heads came from the Yongyu Mausoleum and Yongchang Mausoleum; the National Cultural Heritage Administration formally requested their return in 2025 with supporting evidence.
- Coordination between the NCHA and the Chinese Embassy facilitated the return under the UNESCO Convention and a bilateral memorandum signed in 2009; NCHA Deputy Director Tang Wei, Chinese Ambassador Liu Jinsong, and NGA Director Nick Mitzevich attended the ceremony.
- Reflecting a shared sense of responsibility, Australian officials said the handover strengthens Australia-China relations and encourages continued cooperation in protecting international cultural property.
- Significant outcomes of this China-Australia cooperation include promoting people-to-people exchanges and empathy, while the Chinese side emphasized the return safeguards cultural rights and protects human civilization's achievements.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Australia returns ancient stone heads to China after more than 30 years
Australia has returned two stone sculptures to China after more than 30 years abroad. The statues, showing the heads of a military official and civil servant, had been given to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra by a private collector and date back to the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration received the heads on Wednesday, according to the state broadcaster CCTV. They are thought to have…
The State Cultural Heritage Authority of China accepted in Canberra two lost North Sun Dynasty Cultural Relics returned by the Australian National Gallery. Two stone statues – the head of a military official from the Yun-yulin shrine and a civilian official from the Yunchanlin shrine – come from Henan Province in central China, transmits RIA News with reference to Xinhua. The statue of a military official weighs 132 kg, its height is 86 cm. The …
China Daily
Xinhua News
Australia returned to China two fragments of stone statues from the imperial tombs of the Northern Sun Dynasty. The National Gallery of Australia handed over the artifacts to the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China at a ceremony in Canberra. The two objects are heads of statues of civil and military dignitaries. They are made of limestone and originate from Henan Province in Central China. According to data from the National Galle…
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