China is launching a worldwide hunt for what it says are more than one million cultural relics looted from the old Summer Palace in Bejing nearly 150 years ago.
Specialists believe 1.5 million items could have been taken from the site, which was destroyed by British and French troops.
The BBC reports China has become increasingly active in recent years in efforts to raise the issue of stolen treasures.
The latest expedition abroad was announced by Chen Mingjie, the director of the former palace's management office.
The first team will be sent to the United States, where they will search museums, libraries and private collections.
Experts will also visit Europe - principally Britain and France - and search Chinese collections across Asia, particularly those in Japan.
The China Daily newspaper reported Mr Chen as saying they calculate about 1.5 million relics are housed in more than 200 museums in 47 countries.
He told the Beijing News that the aim of the mission was simply to work out what had been taken from the palace. He said the project was not being carried out in order to get the foreign collections to give back the items.
China set up a fund in 2002 with the aim of getting back stolen cultural treasures.
The BBC reports stolen treasure is a sensitive subject in China because it reminds ordinary people of a period when the country was weak.
Most items were looted and taken abroad between 1840 - 1949 when China was invaded by a number of foreign powers.
