There was excitement here last week following the news that an ancient, 27-ton imperial sarcophagus that was stolen by tomb raiders had been returned to China from the United States.

The Tang Dynasty coffin, which was stolen from the tomb of the empress Wu Huifei, who died in 737, has been handed over to a museum here – four years after it was stolen. Chinese police officers first discovered that the relic had been stolen in 2006. They traced it to a businessman in the US, who had bought it for $1 million.