CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
defects, seeking a return, refund, contract rescission or price reduction. In judicial practice, the court exam - ines whether both parties fulfilled their duty of care: if the buyer is a sophisticated collector and the price was far below market value, the court may rule that the buyer assumed the risk; conversely, if the seller failed to conduct a provenance check, they must bear liability for negligence.
struction, agricultural production, or by chance (eg, riverbed erosion) automatically belong to the state without the need for administrative confirmation. Dis - coverers have a legal obligation to report immediately and protect the site; private excavation, concealment or trading is strictly prohibited. The state grants spir - itual or material rewards to individuals who fulfil these obligations. If a person refuses to hand over relics, cul - tural asset departments have the power to use admin - istrative force for recovery and may impose sanctions under the Public Security Administration Punishment Law; serious cases (eg, illegal possession of precious relics) constitute the crime of embezzlement or the crime of excavating ancient cultural sites. In 2026, the state further strengthened the survey of privately held heritage relics, encouraging their inclusion in public collections through donation, in exchange for tax deductions or honorary titles. 6. Sale of Art Objects Domestically and Abroad 6.1 Key Clauses in Art Sale Contracts Main Clauses The main clauses in an art sales contract include spe - cial provisions such as artwork description, authen - ticity guarantee, authentication certificate, transfer of ownership and defect disclosure, to ensure the authenticity, legal source and transparency of the art - work’s condition. In addition, the contract covers gen - eral clauses such as price, payment method, deliv - ery arrangements, liability for breach of contract and dispute resolution, clarifying the basic framework of the transaction and the rights and obligations of both parties. Due to the particularity of art transactions, the contract usually incorporates detailed identifica - tion requirements, proof of provenance, restoration records and other content, and stipulates return and refund mechanisms in the event of discovering for - geries or significant defects, in order to protect the
5. Cultural Heritage 5.1 Defining Cultural Heritage
According to the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics effective in 2025, the definition of cultural herit - age under Chinese law combines broad and narrow interpretations. Narrowly, it refers to “cultural relics”, including movable and immovable objects with histor - ical, artistic or scientific value, such as ancient build - ings, sites, stone carvings and museum collections. Broadly, it covers intangible cultural heritage and traditional villages. Regarding legal characterisation, the 2026 system emphasises the public nature and national security attributes of cultural heritage. Based on value, relics are classified into Grade I, Grade II, Grade III and general cultural relics. 5.2 Cultural Heritage and Adverse Possession The principle of “adverse possession” is strictly restricted or even excluded in the field of cultural her - itage. According to the interpretative link between the Civil Code and the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, for cultural relics unearthed within the terri - tory that belong to the state, any private possession – regardless of duration or whether it was peaceful possession spanning generations – cannot result in ownership due to the passage of time. For private transactions of cultural relics with legal sources, ordi - nary rules for the transfer of property rights apply; however, for museum relics that were illegally lost, even if the buyer is a “bona fide third party”, the law tends to support recovery by the public institution, providing limited compensation based on the buyer’s degree of fault. 5.3 State Rights to Cultural Heritage According to current regulations in 2026, cultural relics discovered by individuals during infrastructure con -
buyer’s rights and interests. Resale Restriction Clause
A resale restriction clause is also an important ele - ment, stipulating that the buyer is prohibited from reselling or consigning the artwork for auction within a certain period (usually three or five years), to control
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