Australia returned two stone sculptures to China that had been abroad for more than 30 years, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

The statues, showing the heads of a military official and a civil servant, had been given to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra by a private collector and date back to the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). China's National Cultural Heritage Administration received the heads on Wednesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.