The Yin Ruins of the Shang Dynasty (16th century - 11th century BC) capital in Anyang in Central China's Henan Province was placed on the World Heritage List yesterday.

The inclusion, made at the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC), brings the total number of Chinese sites on the list to 33. The country's giant panda habitat was included on the list on Wednesday.

The latest Chinese addition coincides with the results of a 10-year study, which reveals at least 50,000 pieces of antiquities from the area have been taken overseas in the past century.

With a history of more than 3,300 years, the ruins, covering 24 square kilometres, are among the oldest of their kind in China and date back to the Bronze Age.

The WHC unanimously agreed to place the ruins on the list without discussion, and regards the site as being of "universal value," said Zhang Xuezhong, ambassador and permanent delegate to UNESCO.

However, as the survey revealed, many artefacts from the ruins are currently in the hands of at least 80 museums, foundations, auction houses and individual collectors around the world.

"Since they were unearthed back in the early 20th century, relics from the site have been continuously lost overseas," said Tang Jigen, who led the study on the ruins on behalf of the Archaeology Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

From the information he collected, many foreign missionaries and explorers would pay cheap prices to local villagers for relics from the site in the early 20th century.

In 1937, the Japanese army also plundered the site and took them to Japan.

"There are at least 10,000 pieces of oracle bones in Japan now," Tang said.

Relics have also ended up in countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and Sweden.

Tang estimates that at least 50,000 pieces of oracle bones, bronze ware, jade articles, pottery and stone artefacts have been taken out of the country.

"This number is simply a conservative guess. As most museums and collectors do not display all they have, the real number is hard to guess," Tang said.

Since the United Nations has long written in international conventions the principle of returning cultural relics plundered in wars, China will not give up its rights to reclaim these items taken out of the country, said Li Peisong, a senior official with the State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Since 1982, the cultural relics protection department has unearthed more than 150,000 oracle bone pieces, 2,600 pieces of jade articles, 6,000 pieces of bronze ware, and 100,000 pieces of other materials from the site.

It is believed there are still countless relics buried underground.

But the department said that it would not continue excavation of the site unless in special circumstances.

Source: China Daily