A total of 56 lost Chinese cultural relics have been returned from Italy, China's National Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Saturday.

The return signifies further successful cooperation between China and Italy under their agreement to prevent the illegal import and export of cultural relics, the administration noted.

This follows the previous repatriation of 796 Chinese cultural relics from Italy in March 2019.

In October 2022 and April 2024, the Italian Carabinieri military police notified China about the seizure of 56 suspected Chinese cultural relics.

Upon receiving this information, China's National Cultural Heritage Administration provided detailed identification opinions and legal documentation to Italian authorities.

Through diplomatic channels, China formally requested the return of these cultural relics, and Italy subsequently agreed to return the 56 artifacts.

Most of the artifacts were found to have been unearthed in China's Gansu, Qinghai and Shaanxi provinces.

Among them is painted pottery from the Majiayao culture, an ancient Chinese culture dating back more than 5,000 years, offering valuable evidence for studying the origins and early development of Chinese civilization.

The collection also includes pottery figurines from the Han (202 BC-AD 220) and Tang (618-907) dynasties and animal-shaped ceramics from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Amid China's intensified efforts to recover cultural relics lost overseas, more than 2,100 pieces or sets of artifacts have been successfully brought back over the past 12 years.

(Cover: Part of the 56 lost Chinese cultural relics returned from Italy. /CMG)