Ceremony held to unveil returned Buddha head in Beijing

Master Hsing Yun (left), China's Minister of Culture Luo Shugang (middle), Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief Zhang Zhijun (left) unveil the Buddha head statue at the ceremony in Beijing, March 1, 2016. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

The Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage held a ceremony to unveil the stolen Buddha head, donated by Master Hsing Yun from Taiwan, in Beijing on Tuesday.

China's Minister of Culture Luo Shugang, Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief Zhang Zhijun, and Master Hsing Yun were present to unveil the Buddha head statue at National Museum of China.

Luo said that it's a big event for the cultural exchange between the mainland and Taiwan for the safe return of the stolen Buddha head under the escort of Master Hsing Yun himself.

The head statue, carved during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 AD), originally belonged to Youju Temple in Lingshou county, North China's Hebei province. However, it was stolen and lost overseas in 1990s.

A private collector donated the 80 kg head to Master Hsing Yun, the abbot of Foguang Mountain Temple in the city of Kaohsiung, in 2014.

Once he was informed of the origin of the head of the Buddhist sculpture, Master Hsing Yun announced that he wanted to return it.

After a brief exhibition in Beijing, the rare treasure will be displayed in Hebei Museum in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province.