China's National Cultural Heritage Administration on Tuesday received 41 cultural relics and artifacts, which were illegally exported from China, from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York.

The items include pottery, jade, bronze ware and Buddhist artifacts. Among them is a bronze "money tree" with a ceramic base and a pottery figurine of an entertainer.

According to preliminary assessments, these artifacts date from the Neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and hold significant value.

On January 14, 2009, China and the U.S. signed the first intergovernmental memorandum of understanding to prevent the illegal import of Chinese cultural relics into the U.S., which was subsequently renewed in 2014, 2019 and 2024.

Since the signing of the memorandum, 594 lost cultural relics and artifacts have been returned from the U.S. to China in 20 batches.

(Cover: One of the 41 relics returned to China by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York. /CMG)