A looted Chinese bronze vessel returned to China in November, is on display in an exclusive exhibition at the National Museum of China.

The exhibition showcases the vessel known as the Bronze Tiger Ying as well as its historical background, and such an exhibition featuring one single cultural relic is rare in the museum's history, said Wang Chunfa, curator of the museum.

The vessel that dates back to the Western Zhou period (1046 BC-771 BC) was auctioned in April 2018 by Britain's Canterbury Auction Galleries and was later shipped back to China with the efforts of China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage in November.

It was added to the museum's collections in December.

Once belonging to the royal family of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the vessel was taken as war booty by British military officer Harry Evans from Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, in 1860 during the invasion of Anglo-French allied forces.

The exhibition is expected to last for a month.