Old Summer Palace pauses treasure hunt

A yearlong research tour of western museums locating and documenting treasures looted from the old Summer Palace has taken a breather. Consisting of five researchers and four journalists, the expedition finished its ninth American museum tour in November last year. But they are not sticking to the original plan to visit Japan or Europe, communications officer Zheng Lihong of the Yuanmingyuan management department said. "The trip to the US panicked museums in the western countries, where the action was interpreted as China’s attempt to claim back its long-lost treasures," she was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency’s Globe magazine as saying, according to China.org.cn. But Zheng denied the words ascribed to her in Globe magazine and said she had never been interviewed by them. "We’ve more work to do at home before we’re ready for the rest of the journey," Zheng said.