National Treasures Draw Public Attention in ChengduHundreds of people lined up in front of an exhibition building in north suburban Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Wednesday to see three Chinese national treasures which were returned to China after being kept overseas for more than 100 years.The antiques are the bronze heads of ox, tiger and monkey, three of the 12 animal sculptures in a water clock designed for the Yuanmingyuan Palace in Beijing, which was described as one of the most splendid gardens in the world. They were looted by British and French troops when they invaded Beijing in 1860, and were recovered at an auction fair in Hong Kong in May when the Poly Group Corporation of China bought them for more than 33.17 million Hong Kong dollars. The three pieces of treasures attracted more than 100,000 visitors in Hong Kong and the same number of people in Beijing and Shanghai when they were on display there. More than 10,000 visitors went to the Chengdu exhibition in the first day Tuesday. |
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