A large number of Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas in modern times due to wartime robbery and iniquitous trade. Driven by huge profits, trafficking in cultural property has become a common concurrence since the reform and opening-up, and the “return” of cultural relics has been a shared aspiration of the Chinese people.
The Chinese government has long been committed to recovering cultural relics lost overseas and combating illicit trafficking of them, and is actively engaging in international cooperation. Since acceding to The UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has actively practiced the spirit of the Convention and taken a series of powerful measures to build the "Great International Wall" against illicit trafficking of cultural property. A series of breakthroughs have been made. Zhejiang Province is one of the earliest coastal provinces in China that opened up, and an important battlefield in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural relics. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Zhejiang Customs and relevant departments of cultural relics have made a series of remarkable achievements through joint efforts in the fight against illegal trafficking of cultural property.
“Cultural relics, as legacies our ancestors left us, carry the history and culture of the splendid Chinese civilization. They nourish the spirit of the Chinese people and are vehicles for socialist spiritual civilization.” In Celebration of the 2022 International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property, Ningbo Museum launched this exhibition to draw public attention to the crime, popularize the legal knowledge related to the entry and exit of cultural relics and enhance public awareness of cultural relics protection in the hope of pooling strength for the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property and for the defense of our national dignity and the enhancement of our cultural confidence.