On October 28 local time, the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) received 2lost Chinese cultural relics returnedby the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Tang Wei, Deputy Director of the NCHA, Liu Jinsong, Chinese Ambassador to Australia, and Nick Mitzevich, Director of the National Gallery of Australia, attended and delivered remarks at the repatriation ceremony. Representatives from relevant agencies including Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Arts were also present.

China noted that facilitating the returning of lost cultural relics to their countries constitutes a just cause for safeguarding cultural heritage security for all nations, respecting the cultural rights and interests and national sentiments of peoples of all countries, and preserving the achievements of human civilization. This cooperation

marks an important outcome of the implementation of international conventions on cultural heritage protection between China and Australia, which will further boost people-to people and cultural exchanges and strengthen bonds between the two peoples.

The Australian side stated that the repatriation of cultural relics means more than the physical handover of objects. It embodies respect for cultural heritage, a sense of responsibility and international partnership. This repatriation helps deepen AustraliaChina friendly relations and advance continued cooperation between the two sides in the field of cultural heritage protection.

The 2 cultural relics returned from Australia arethe head of a military official statuein Yongyu Tomb and the head of a civil official statuein Yongchang Tomb, both belonging to the Imperial Yombs of the Northern Song Dynasty. Working together with the Ministry of Public Security as well as cultural heritage and public security authorities of Henan Province, the National Cultural Heritage Administration conducted investigations and compiled supporting evidence. In 2025, it submitted a memorandum to the National Gallery of Australia requesting the return of the relics, officially launching the repatriation pursuit.

In close coordination with the Chinese Embassy in Australia, the National Cultural Heritage Administration secured the return of the 2 lost cultural relics under the framework of the UNESCO 1970 Convention. The effort was grounded in the intergovernmental Memorandum on cultural heritage protection signed by China and Australia in 2009, as well as the policy released by National Gallery of Australiain 2021on due diligence, provenance research and collection history.