Ten cultural treasures, once stolen from their home in Beijing's
Yuanmingyuan Park (Old Summer Palace), will return to their
rightful place today, a day ahead of World Cultural Heritage Day,
which falls at the second Saturday of June.
The treasures comprise a pair of fish sculptures and eight white
marble carvings, which are hundreds of years old.
The ornaments were removed from the imperial garden during the
period of the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), and were given back
to the park's authority by institutes and individuals.
A ceremony will be held at the park today to mark their
return.
"The first returned batch will be put back in their original
places and will go on show to visitors free of charge," Zong
Tianliang, a park spokesperson, said.
The pair of fish sculptures, made in 1759, was an important
ornament in Dashuifa - a group of fountains considered among the
grandest architectures in the Xiyanglou (European Palaces).
Yuanmingyuan Park statistics show there are still about 1.5
million relics missing, possibly scattered around the world, after
they were looted by invading foreign troops: the British and French
in October 1860, and later in 1900, by the allied forces of eight
countries.
Better known as the Old Summer Palace, the park was an imperial
palace during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
What remains is a vast, sprawling and almost empty park.
There have been several plans to rebuild Yuanmingyuan, but the
task would be "impossibly expensive", Zhang Yongnian, chief of the
China special fund for scattered relics, said.
(China Daily June 8, 2007)
