On trail of treasure hunters
Source: Shanghai Daily |
November 5, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA will go after "looters" hunting treasure from sunken ships in the South China Sea without permission, but the authorities face a tough job as the waters are so extensive, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.
Some treasure seekers have used explosives to get at the porcelain, gold and silver contained in ships that have sunk around the Xisha Islands, which lies on the maritime route of the old Silk Road, Xinhua said.
"All the 48 cultural relics sites there have been looted to various degrees," Wang Yiping, head of Hainan Province's cultural heritage bureau, told Xinhua. "Of these, 26 sites have been seriously looted."
Chinese authorities seized six small boats in April near the Xisha Islands, confiscating more than 1,400 pieces of porcelain, Wang added. However, three larger boats fled.
"It's a tough job to enforce the law in such a huge area, but we will not give up," added Wen Li, an official with the provincial marine environment monitoring team.
"Various agencies and government departments are discussing measures to strengthen supervision to ensure the safety of the relics in the South China Sea," he said.
Some treasure seekers have used explosives to get at the porcelain, gold and silver contained in ships that have sunk around the Xisha Islands, which lies on the maritime route of the old Silk Road, Xinhua said.
"All the 48 cultural relics sites there have been looted to various degrees," Wang Yiping, head of Hainan Province's cultural heritage bureau, told Xinhua. "Of these, 26 sites have been seriously looted."
Chinese authorities seized six small boats in April near the Xisha Islands, confiscating more than 1,400 pieces of porcelain, Wang added. However, three larger boats fled.
"It's a tough job to enforce the law in such a huge area, but we will not give up," added Wen Li, an official with the provincial marine environment monitoring team.
"Various agencies and government departments are discussing measures to strengthen supervision to ensure the safety of the relics in the South China Sea," he said.
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