Cultural treasures back home from UK

Many of the recovered relics were Song Dynasty (960-1279) porcelains from different kilns, reflecting a booming economy at the time and showing how the production techniques used at the time had spread.

Two intact ceramic vases, dating from the late Yuan (1271-1368) and early Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, are thought to be from the same tomb. A rare stone statuette of a horse was probably tied to a local chieftain in Guizhou province during the Yuan or Ming Dynasty, based on comparisons with other archaeological discoveries.

A group of Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) figurines portraying dancers is also a key reference for the study of pottery-making technology of the time.

All the returned relics are on virtual display at ncha.gov.cn/col/col2432/index.html on the website of the National Cultural Heritage Administration.