Cultural relic experts and NGOs will go abroad to reclaim China's national treasures.

The China Cultural Relics Recovery Program, funded by the China Foundation for the Development of Folklore Culture, announced a large-scale program Monday to claim back Chinese cultural relics scattered around the world.

The group said it would mainly look for stolen, excavated or looted items between 1840 and 1949, said Zhang Yongnian, head of the program.

Statistics from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) show about more than 200 museums in 47 countries have 1.67 million Chinese cultural relics.

However, some people estimate private collectors could have 10 times as many.

"The spiritual wealth can be shared (by the whole world), but not the ownership, just like the property rights on software," said Xie Chensheng, a senior cultural heritage preservation expert.

"Ownership of the scattered cultural treasures should belong to Chinese people," he said.

Director general of the program Wang Weiming said the program was a civil movement sponsored by Chinese NGOs and backed by public opinion, historical realities and an international convention to protect cultural relics at their original sites.

Many governments had agreed to stop cultural relics export or trafficking, relics experts said.
 
Editor: Catherine