The bronze relic Tiger Ying (bronze water vessel), which was sold at auction in Canterbury, UK, for 410,000 pounds in April this year despite objections from the Chinese government, has come back to China recently.

This artifact is believed to have been looted from the ransacked Old Summer Palace (also known as the Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan) in Beijing in 1860, by a British Royal Marines captain Harry Lewis Evans, who fought in the Second Opium War. The name Tiger comes from the unique tiger decorations on its lid and spout.

The relic, dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771 BC), was subsequently donated to China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage by the overseas buyer after the auction. An official donation and reception ceremony for this relic was held on September 21 in the U.K.

On October 12, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage decided that the National Museum of China will be the place to hold the Tiger Ying.

Today, on December 11, an official ceremony was held to welcome Tiger Ying back home and transfer the relic to the National Museum of China in Beijing.