As many as 30 precious national treasures – mainly archaic bronzes, porcelains and jadeware from the Shang Dynasty (16th – 11th century BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) - are now on display at Qilin Hotel in Pingtan, an island county in Fujian, from May 26 to 31.

The exhibition of cultural relics is an initiative of Pingtan's administrative committee and the Chang Fu Group, a private enterprise whose business includes art dealing, mining investment, real estate development and trade.

The looted antiques had been out of China for a long time before the Chang Fu Group successfully bid for them at international auctions.

One of the antiques, an imperial jade seal used by the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty was bought at auction by the group for HK$ 63.38 million in 2008, which set a world record for a jade seal.

Other rare cultural items in the display will include a phoenix-patterned tripod from the Shang Dynasty, an imperial Song Gui (a food container) from the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century – 771 BC) and exquisite porcelains from the Qing Dynasty.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Niva Whyman