By Li Hongmei
Around 100 treasure hunters began looking for relics at a construction site in Hangzhou on Oct. 25, with most of them hoping to uncover antique China porcelain, ceramics or pottery, reports the local Qianjiang Evening News.
Liu Xiaohai (pseudonym), a 23-year-old man from central China's Henan province, decided to give up his eight-year career as a treasure hunter after he was involved in an incident at a construction site where he broke his right leg. Liu said that the job it is too dangerous but an increasing number of people are joining the profession because of the money involved.
At the Hangzhou site, a local reporter interviewed more than 10 treasure diggers, with an average age of 36 and four and a half years of experience. According to them, there are nearly 800 treasure diggers in Hangzhou, most of them originating from Henan, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces.
These treasure diggers are typically organized groups, with their leaders knowing which construction sites may have antiques to be dug up, the price that they will be sold at and where they can sell them.
Hu Baucheng (pseudonym) joined a team, whose leader has guaranteed a minimum annual pay of about 60,000 yuan (US$9,800). In return, diggers have to agree that all the antiques they discover belong to the leader. These leaders typically have to pay the owners of these construction sites thousands of yuan for the right to hunt for antiques
However, according to Chinese law, all uncovered relics should belong to the government and no individuals can dig up the treasures. Professional treasure diggers are thus illegal, said Wang Yu, deputy secretary-general of the Zhejiang Association of Collectors.
Wang said these treasure diggers may damage the relics and may see casualties. Meanwhile, the buyers face risks for having violated related laws as well, he said.
Currently, the Hangzhou construction site is protected by related government agencies, but local officials must address the issue and find ways to protect relics at construction sites, the paper added.
