Soft music sounded, and a bronze Arhat statue sitting cross legged appeared in the center of the page. From the slightly blurry image, it can be seen that it has gone through many vicissitudes in the world. But even so, Arhat still has a clear and serene face. This is a bronze Arhat statue built in the Ming Dynasty of China. On a late autumn night in 1996, it was stolen from the museum in Shou County, Anhui Province, along with several other Arhat statues. There has been no news in the past 30 years. However, in the future, more people will know about the special experience of this precious cultural relic and provide more clues for its whereabouts. On September 29, 2025, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched a website called the "Stolen Cultural Relics Virtual Museum". The website used detailed information on more than 250 stolen cultural relics from 46 countries to build a virtual exhibition hall, attempting to draw global attention to the fate of these stolen cultural relics in this way. Establishing a virtual museum may sound like a ritualistic act, but its significance goes beyond that. The international pursuit of stolen and illegally exported cultural relics is a complex matter that combines historical, legal, and diplomatic issues. Establishing databases and virtual museums is a public display of cultural relic information, as well as a crackdown and warning against illegal trafficking of cultural relics. As conveyed by UNESCO in its press release, perhaps the establishment of this virtual museum will be a turning point in the pursuit of cultural relics. Unveiling the veil of stolen cultural relics and opening the 'Stolen Cultural Relics Virtual Museum', people will be shocked by the time and spatial span of these cultural relics. Oil paintings from 18th century Latin America, sandstone sculptures from the Sultanate of Sudan in the 2nd century BC, and remnants of Greek sculptures from over 2600 years ago are all presented to people at the same time. It can be seen that this' virtual museum 'attempts to evoke people's emotions towards stolen cultural relics around the world with as rich a collection and display as possible. In addition, Interpol is also an important partner of the website. The information on hundreds of cultural relics displayed on the website comes from the database of the International Criminal Police Organization. If someone knows the whereabouts of any cultural relic in the museum, they can directly contact Interpol through the website to quickly provide clues. In fact, establishing virtual databases and "online museums" for stolen cultural relics is not a new thing. Wang Yunxia, director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage Law at Renmin University of China Law School, mentioned that since the late 20th century, many international organizations have established databases of stolen cultural relics. The purpose is to remind cultural relic traders to remain vigilant and not to touch these illegally sourced cultural relics, and to let the public understand the situation of stolen cultural relics. Since these cultural relics have been stolen, they should not be purchased again, otherwise they will face the risk of being pursued, "Wang Yunxia told China Newsweek. Of course, what Chinese cultural and museum enthusiasts are most concerned about is which cultural relics from China are in this "virtual museum" and what unique experiences they have had. At present, among the hundreds of cultural relics displayed on this website, there are four bronze Arhat statues of different postures from China, all of which were stolen from Shouxian Museum in Anhui Province in the fall of 1996. With the launch of the "Stolen Cultural Relics Virtual Museum", details of the theft case that occurred nearly 30 years ago have once again appeared in front of the public. One night in November 1996, seven of the fifteen bronze Arhat statues in the Shouxian Museum in Anhui Province were stolen, two of which were national level II cultural relics, and the other five were national level III cultural relics. By 2024, three of the seven missing bronze Arhat have been recovered, and the remaining four are exactly the four displayed in the "Stolen Cultural Relics Virtual Museum". This somewhat bizarre story does not only happen in China. In the 'Stolen Cultural Relics Virtual Museum', hundreds of cultural relics from all over the world have such intricate backgrounds behind each one. The 'virtual museum' displays heartfelt 'missing person notices' for these lost cultural relics. As Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, has stated, the United Nations hopes to bring these cultural relics back into the spotlight through the establishment of this museum, restoring the public's right to "access, experience cultural heritage, and find their own projection within it". In November 1988, a top cultural relic from China, the Warring States Bronze Dun from Hubei, suddenly appeared at a Sotheby's auction in the United States. A few months earlier, it had just been stolen from the Qu Yuan Memorial Hall in Zigui, Hubei. After the incident, Sotheby's auction house stated that if they could provide information that the bronze statue belonged to China, they would return it. Subsequently, the Chinese police quickly uncovered the case and transferred the evidence of the illegal outflow of Bronze Dun from China to the United States through Interpol, and then submitted it to Sotheby's auction house through diplomatic channels. Finally, in May 1989, China and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding, which led to the return of Bronze Town. This Warring States Bronze Dun is the first foreign cultural relic recovered through diplomatic channels after the founding of the People's Republic of China. From the establishment of the "Stolen Cultural Relics Virtual Museum" and the complex process of Bronze Dun's return, it can be seen that the process of "returning home" for stolen cultural relics is far more complicated than people imagine. Professor Huo Zhengxin from China University of Political Science and Law once mentioned in a media interview that the return of illegally lost cultural relics mainly involves three ways: donation, commercial repurchase, and negotiation and resolution in accordance with international conventions, national laws, and other means. Compared to the first two market related approaches, solving problems through legal and negotiation is the most in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions and ethical principles, but it is also the most difficult one among them. The reason for this difficulty is not difficult to understand. Due to the theft and smuggling of cultural relics, some occurred during times of war and social unrest in countries where cultural relics were lost. For these countries, it was difficult to effectively punish theft activities at that time, and it was also difficult to retrieve lost cultural relics through diplomatic means afterwards. For example, during the war period from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, China had a phenomenon of large-scale outflow of cultural relics. The well-known "national treasures" such as the animal heads of the Yuanmingyuan and the cultural relics of the Dunhuang scripture cave were all leaked during these periods. Similar situations have also occurred in Cambodia in Southeast Asia. Between the 1970s and 1990s, many cultural sites were looted, and a large number of cultural relics were sold abroad by "intermediaries" and "international distributors". Many cultural relics have been lost to foreign countries to this day. Once looted during turbulent times, the path of cultural relics returning home becomes extremely difficult. Therefore, it was not until the 1970s, with the emergence of the "1970 Convention" of UNESCO, that a new stage of searching for overseas cultural relics was officially opened. The effectiveness of the 1970 Convention lies in its clear provision of cooperative methods to prevent the illegal import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property. The convention mentions that the contracting states of the convention have an obligation to return illegally exported cultural relics to their legitimate owners, and must also use administrative power to promote the return of cultural relics. In addition, contracting parties have an obligation to accept lawsuits related to the loss of cultural relics under their own laws. China joined this convention in 1989 and the "1995 Convention" of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law in 1997, signing memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements with multiple countries. In this way, under the joint action of law, negotiation and other methods, after 2000, multiple batches of stolen cultural relics were returned to China from abroad. For example, the cultural relics of the tomb of Empress Tang Zhenshun, which returned from the United States in 2011, and the gold jewelry pieces lost from the Dabaozishan site, which returned from France in 2015, are successful cases of China recovering lost cultural relics. At present, international conventions can only provide legal basis for the recovery of stolen and illegally exported cultural relics that occur after their entry into force, and have no "retroactive effect" on longer-term events. For example, a major cultural relic market country like the UK only joined the 1970 Convention after 2002. Assuming that China wants to recover illegal Chinese cultural relics from the UK, it can only recover those stolen or illegally exported after 2002. If both we and the other party (the country where the stolen cultural relics are located) are contracting parties to the convention and the convention has also come into effect for the other party, then we can pursue them according to the convention. However, for cultural relics that have been stolen or illegally transferred before the convention comes into effect, there is currently no direct international legal basis to pursue them, "explained Wang Yunxia, director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage Law at Renmin University of China Law School, explaining the limitations of international conventions. In addition, the 1970 Convention has some other loopholes, such as requiring contracting states to return stolen collections from public institutions, but not specifying how lost cultural relics from other sources should be returned. In addition, there are too many cultural relics lost during the "colonial period" and the two world wars worldwide. If cultural relics are recovered one by one according to procedures, they may have to be recovered until the end of time, which also creates obstacles for cultural relics around the world to "return home". According to incomplete statistics, there are currently millions of cultural relics collected in overseas museums from countries such as China and Egypt. It can be imagined that even with the protection of conventions, countries with lost cultural relics still have to spend a long time and make great efforts to promote the early "return home" of cultural relics. How to promote cultural relics' return home 'However, in recent years, China has achieved more results in this field. In June 2025, the earliest silk books discovered in China - the second and third volumes of the "Bullet Depot Silk Books" in Changsha - successfully returned to China after being stranded overseas for 79 years. In fact, the "Bullet Bank Silk Book" was dug up by tomb raiders in 1942 and then deceived and taken out of China by American Ke Qiang in 1946. This time does not fall within the jurisdiction of international law such as the 1970 Convention, and the difficulty of pursuing it can be imagined. The successful return of the "Bullet Library Silk Book" relies mainly on the willingness of the cultural relic holders to return it, in-depth research by experts and scholars on the condition of the cultural relics, and coordination and cooperation among relevant parties. In April 2022, the Smithsonian Institution of the United States issued a statement announcing the implementation of ethical returns for museum collections obtained through unethical means. And these two stolen 'Bullet Bank Silk Books' happen to be collected in the National Asian Art Museum under the association. Since then, the National Cutural Heritage Administration has started the pursuit of the "Bullet Vault Silk Book". On the basis of more than years of research by Professor Li Ling of Peking University, they have formed a complete chain of evidence and submitted it to the Smithsonian Society. Afterwards, the University of Chicago Library also transferred the physical evidence of the circulation of the second and third volumes of silk books in the United States to China, ultimately facilitating the return of cultural relics. The return of the "Bullet Library Silk Book" is a successful case of cultural relic retrieval. In fact, when it comes to the issue of retrieving cultural relics, it is important to improve the research and evidence chain in accordance with the law, as well as to communicate with both parties in good faith. Wang Yunxia, director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage Law at Renmin University of China Law School, mentioned that currently, from the perspective of a "community with a shared future for mankind," efforts are being made to persuade countries that possess cultural relics to stimulate their sense of justice, morality, or compassion, and encourage them to actively cooperate in the return,