The Department of Culture and Tourism of Guizhou Province released a statement on Tuesday, announcing the launch of a joint investigation into the loss of 29 sets of cultural relics formerly housed at the old site of the Guizhou Provincial Museum. The statement came in response to media reports published on January 12 citing official data on missing or stolen artifacts.

The Guizhou Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has launched a joint investigation after media reports that 29 artifacts housed at the former provincial museum were reportedly missing or stolen, according to a statement released by the department on Tuesday. The department said it had attached great importance to the issue and carried out an immediate verification.

According to the department, the artifacts were lost or stolen over an extended period between 1986 and 2008. The Guizhou Provincial Museum has released recovery notices for the missing items on China's national platform for stolen or lost cultural relics to assist police and cultural heritage authorities in identifying clues and facilitating their retrieval.

The department also stated that it will encourage museums across the province to enhance internal management, strengthen oversight of collections and ensure the safety of cultural relics.

Data from Stolen (Lost) Cultural Relics Information Publishing Platform of China show that a total of 52 cultural relics nationwide were listed as stolen or missing in 2025. Of these, two items were linked to the Guizhou Provincial Museum, while 29 sets were associated with its old site.

Among the 29 artifacts made public on the platform, one item was listed as stolen, while 28 others were classified as lost, according to information disclosed on the platform. The data also show that 17 sets went missing or were stolen before 2000, while 12 sets were lost after 2000, reported The Beijing News.

Platform records indicate that some of the 29 cultural relics from the old museum went missing or were stolen years, even decades ago, but were only disclosed and made public in 2025.

Global Times