China's National Cultural Heritage Administration received 41 cultural relics and artworks returned by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York, United States, on Monday.
The artifacts include a bronze money tree, pottery, jade pieces, Buddhist statues, and Tibetan relics, spanning from the Neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).
A preliminary analysis by experts confirms that these items, distinguished by their rich variety and exquisite craftsmanship, hold significant historical, artistic, and scientific value. They have been classified as illegally exported Chinese cultural relics.
On January 14, 2009, China and the United States signed their first intergovernmental memorandum of understanding to prevent the illegal entry of Chinese cultural relics into the U.S. The agreement was later renewed in 2014, 2019, and 2024. Since its signing, the two countries have successfully facilitated the return of 20 batches of lost cultural and artistic artifacts, totaling 594 pieces or sets, from the U.S. to China.
41 cultural relics, classified as illegally exported, returned to China from US
41 cultural relics, classified as illegally exported, returned to China from US
41 cultural relics, classified as illegally exported, returned to China from US
Chinese scientists announced Monday that they have achieved a breakthrough in yak cloning, with 10 cloned calves all naturally delivered in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.
These calves, consisting of three black yaks and seven white ones, were born from March 25 to April 5 at a yak breeding and research base in Xizang's Damxung County, all meeting expected standards and steadily gaining weight.
The mass births came after the first cloned yak was born in July 2025, which has grown healthily and weighs about 183 kg now.
The achievement was made using a domestically developed breeding system that combines whole-genome selection with somatic cell cloning, following three years of research by a Chinese scientific team.
"Whole-genome selection can accurately pinpoint excellent genetic loci associated with large body size, fast growth, strong fecundity and disease resistance, high feed conversion efficiency, and tolerance to high-altitude and low-oxygen conditions (cold resistance). On this basis, somatic cell cloning enables 1:1 precise replication of the genotype through asexual rapid propagation (cloning), thereby compressing the breeding cycle to within five years," said Fang Shengguo, a professor at the College of Life Sciences at Zhejiang University and director of the State Conservation Center for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife.
Yak farming is one of the key industries targeted for development in Xizang during the country's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). Traditional yak breeding has relied on phenotype selection, a process that can take up to 20 years and often leads to declining genetic quality.
Researchers said the new method can shorten the breeding cycle to less than five years by accurately identifying desirable genetic traits such as faster growth, disease resistance, feed efficiency and adaptation to high-altitude, low-oxygen environments, while enabling rapid replication of elite breeding stock.
Experts added that the technology could also support conservation efforts for rare yak genetic resources, including the endangered golden wild yak, whose population in Xizang is estimated at more than 300.
So far, the research team has developed more than 200 cloned embryos of golden wild yaks and hybrid wild-blood yaks, laying the groundwork for future embryo transfer and species recovery programs.
China achieves large-scale births of cloned yaks
