Huang Nubo's donation helps Chinese relics come home

Chinese entrepreneur Huang Nubo has helped to return seven marble columns from a Norwegian museum back to China. The marble columns were taken about 150 years ago from western Beijing's Imperial Yuanmingyuan Garden, or the Old Summer Palace.

Our reporter Liu Min interviewed Huang Nubo and found out how he managed to get the treasure back to China.

Chinese real estate tycoon Huang Nubo struck a trilateral agreement with the Norwegian museum Kode Art Museum in Bergen and Peking University. The columns will return to China this September and will be publicly exhibited at Peking University.

Huang Nubo, chairman of Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group says he is thankful that he has been able to do something to help Chinese relics return to their rightful home.

"When I visited the Norwegian Museum, there was an exhibition ongoing at a corner of the museum and it was called Yuanmingyuan. When I saw that, I felt tears roll down my cheeks. The museum staff asked me why I was so emotional. I told them that they wouldn't be able to understand that the columns' presence was a disgrace to the history of China, and I told them I wanted those seven columns to return home. Then we talked it through."

During the Qing Dynasty, which spans between the 17th century to the 20th century, British and French expeditionary forces invaded Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace garden in 1860, taking away thousands of artifacts from its precious imperial collections and burning the rest.

Norwegian cavalry officer Johan W.N. Munthe managed to obtain some of the precious items from unknown sources and donated 2,500 Chinese artifacts to the Kode museum in the early 20th century.

Huang says he used to donate to two American museums and that's why the Norwegian Museum found him and expected him to help them. He said there were about three to four thousand pieces from China in the museum, but most of the relics had not been properly maintained. The museum had been broken into twice and thieves had damaged some 20 valuable Chinese vases.

Huang Nubo says museum donation is not a trade or "throwing away money", but rather a very meaningful action to China and also to himself.

"I'm extremely happy and proud of it! That period of time is a sorrowful and shameful memory in China's history, but now there is a chance for us to do something to make a change. As a businessman and Chinese entrepreneur, I'm glad my daily business dealings can finally be meaningful."

Huang believes that it would be helpful if more Chinese entrepreneurs got involved in the quest to return lost treasures to China. Speaking exclusively to CRI, Huang reveal that another surprise is coming soon.

"I want to tell you that it's not just 7 columns, but 14. We are negotiating with them and trying to get the other 7 back to China next year. My dream is to implement an international campaign called "Get the Treasures Back Home". I'm calling on all the parties in China, especially Chinese entrepreneurs to join me. I hope all the Chinese around the world realize that it's time for millions of Chinese treasures to go home, so that that disgraceful period of history will be forever in the past."

Huang's dream is clear for all to see and he is thankful that many countries around the world want to cooperate with China in many aspects including business, culture and education. As Peking University was previously part of the Yuanmingyuan site, under the trilateral agreement, the seven columns will be displayed in the university's museums and money will be donated in order to help maintain the columns.