A piece of ancient bronzeware identified as “Xijia Plate”, with historical roots tracing back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771 B.C.), on Saturday drew bids reaching 212 million yuan (31 million US dollars) at an auction in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. The bid was a record high for a Chinese antique. /VCG Photo

Bidding for the ancient artwork began at 120 million yuan (17 million US dollars) before eventually fetching the winning record-high bid./VCG Photo

The plate, with a diameter of 47 centimeters, is engraved with a short inscription recording part of the history of the reign of King Xuan of the State of Zhou (827-782 B.C.). /VCG Photo

It is known as the only surviving bronze art treasure unearthed during the Han (206 B.C.-AD 220) and Song (960-1279) Dynasties. /VCG Photo