After Nanjing Museum theft, China overhauls museum collection management regulations
Following a collection theft incident at the Nanjing Museum, China's National Cultural Heritage Administration has drafted a major overhaul of its museum collection management regulations. New rules include mandatory handover of collections by legal representatives upon leaving office and a ban on acquiring items of unknown origin.
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- 📰 Published: May 6, 2026 at 18:16
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Li Yawen, Taipei, 6th) Following the theft of cultural relics from the Nanjing Museum (Nanbo) in May last year, China's National Cultural Heritage Administration plans a major overhaul of its "Museum Collection Management Regulations," adding provisions such as requiring legal representatives of museums to hand over collections upon leaving office, and prohibiting the acquisition of collections of unknown origin.
The National Cultural Heritage Administration has released a draft for public comment on the Museum Collection Management Regulations, with comments accepted until the 30th.
The current Chinese Museum Collection Management Regulations were issued in 1986 and have not been revised for 40 years. There have long been calls for revision. The official sector held a revision symposium in 2024; after the Nanbo theft incident, a national symposium on museum collection management was held in July 2025, and today the draft for comment was released.
The current Museum Collection Management Regulations have 33 articles; the revised new version will expand to 60 articles.
The draft for comment clearly defines that the legal representative or primary person in charge of a museum is the primary person responsible for the safety of the collection. Before leaving office, they should complete the inventory and handover procedures for the collection. The competent cultural relics administration department should dispatch personnel to supervise and inspect the inventory and handover work of the collection when the legal representative or primary person in charge of a state-owned museum leaves office.
A social supervision mechanism has been introduced into the museum management system. The draft for comment requires museums to establish management systems for various aspects such as collection acquisition, appraisal, archiving, storage entry/exit, removal, restoration, and others; museums should establish a social supervision mechanism, and publish collection information, acquisition, and removal information through on-site public notices, official websites, and other means.
The draft for comment states that museums may acquire collections through legally prescribed methods such as purchase, acceptance of donations, lawful exchange, allocation, and transfer; they shall not acquire collections whose origin is illegal or unknown, and the acquisition process shall not violate professional ethics of museums. Museums should complete the collection registration procedures within 3 months of acquiring a collection.
The draft for comment also specifies provisions for collection storage management and collection protection and utilization, such as storage managers not being allowed to enter the storage alone, non-storage managers not being allowed to enter the storage without approval, and the maximum loan period for collections not exceeding 3 years.
In May last year, the Nanbo cultural relics theft incident broke out. The Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government investigation team found that Xu Huping, then executive vice president of Nanbo, illegally approved the transfer of cultural relics, and relevant units also failed to strictly review them. Paintings such as the "Jiangnan Spring" scroll were illegally transferred and sold, and after multiple resales, 3 of the 5 paintings have been recovered, one of which was found in the Nanbo storage after investigation, and another is still being traced. (Editor: Qiu Guoqiang) 1150506
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(Central News Agency reporter Li Yawen, Taipei, 6th) Following the theft of cultural relics from the Nanjing Museum (Nanbo) in May last year, China's National Cultural Heritage Administration plans a major overhaul of its "Museum Collection Management Regulations," adding provisions such as requiring legal representatives of museums to hand over collections upon leaving office, and prohibiting the acquisition of collections of unknown origin.
The National Cultural Heritage Administration has released a draft for public comment on the Museum Collection Management Regulations, with comments accepted until the 30th.
The current Chinese Museum Collection Management Regulations were issued in 1986 and have not been revised for 40 years. There have long been calls for revision. The official sector held a revision symposium in 2024; after the Nanbo theft incident, a national symposium on museum collection management was held in July 2025, and today the draft for comment was released.
The current Museum Collection Management Regulations have 33 articles; the revised new version will expand to 60 articles.
The draft for comment clearly defines that the legal representative or primary person in charge of a museum is the primary person responsible for the safety of the collection. Before leaving office, they should complete the inventory and handover procedures for the collection. The competent cultural relics administration department should dispatch personnel to supervise and inspect the inventory and handover work of the collection when the legal representative or primary person in charge of a state-owned museum leaves office.
A social supervision mechanism has been introduced into the museum management system. The draft for comment requires museums to establish management systems for various aspects such as collection acquisition, appraisal, archiving, storage entry/exit, removal, restoration, and others; museums should establish a social supervision mechanism, and publish collection information, acquisition, and removal information through on-site public notices, official websites, and other means.
The draft for comment states that museums may acquire collections through legally prescribed methods such as purchase, acceptance of donations, lawful exchange, allocation, and transfer; they shall not acquire collections whose origin is illegal or unknown, and the acquisition process shall not violate professional ethics of museums. Museums should complete the collection registration procedures within 3 months of acquiring a collection.
The draft for comment also specifies provisions for collection storage management and collection protection and utilization, such as storage managers not being allowed to enter the storage alone, non-storage managers not being allowed to enter the storage without approval, and the maximum loan period for collections not exceeding 3 years.
In May last year, the Nanbo cultural relics theft incident broke out. The Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government investigation team found that Xu Huping, then executive vice president of Nanbo, illegally approved the transfer of cultural relics, and relevant units also failed to strictly review them. Paintings such as the "Jiangnan Spring" scroll were illegally transferred and sold, and after multiple resales, 3 of the 5 paintings have been recovered, one of which was found in the Nanbo storage after investigation, and another is still being traced. (Editor: Qiu Guoqiang) 1150506
Choose to stand with the facts, every sponsorship you make is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
Unauthorized reproduction, public broadcasting, public transmission, or use of the text, images, and videos on this website is prohibited.