One of the carvings of maidens that adorn the sarcophagus of Tang Dynasty concubine Wu Huifei. The 27-ton stone relic was stolen from a tomb in the ancient city of Xi'an and sold abroad.

Chinese authorities have recovered one of the country's most precious relics. When Han Qinglong saw for the first time the reconstructed sarcophagus of Wu Huifei, a royal concubine during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), it took his breath away.

"I knew it was precious,but I didn't know it was this beautiful," said Han, who headed the team that brought the relic back to China four years after it was stolen and sold abroad by tomb raiders.

"It looks so grand," he said. "I feel proud that we managed to find our lost treasure."

The 27-ton sarcophagus, which is decorated with colorful flowers and maiden figures in relief, went on display at the Shaanxi History Museum on June 17 and is the first state-level relic that Xi'an police have recovered from a foreign country through legal processes.

Tan Ping, director of museums and cultural relics for the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, described the return of the treasure as "encouraging news".

According to official archives, China has retrieved almost 4,000 antiques through legal and diplomatic means since 1998.

The sarcophagus arrived back in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, in April and experts took almost a month to reassemble the ancient stone relic, which was dismantled by the tomb raiders before it was shipped abroad.

"It was difficult as there was no complete information about the sarcophagus available to help us," said Shi Xiaoqun, director of relics collection at Shaanxi History Museum.

The priceless treasure was stolen from a Tang Dynasty tomb in Xi'an in 2005 by a gang of grave robbers led by Yang Bin and sold to an antiques dealer in the United States. Securing its return took city representatives months of negotiations -- and even the threat of legal action.