More than 270, 000 artefacts (Chinese ceramics, religious objects, jewellery, gold coins, pottery etc) were salvaged from the wreck, giving the discovery exceptional historical value.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

This extends far beyond the contemporary art market, too, with Chinese buyers pulling ahead of the pack and also dominating at auctions of traditional Chinese ink paintings, ceramics, and antiques this year.

FORBES: What China's Millionaires Are Buying

Sotheby's said Song ceramics are increasingly being sought after by Chinese art collectors.

BBC: NY garage $3-bowl sells for $2.2m at auction

It has succumbed because of a humdrum failure to rein in wage increases and to modernise a bureaucracy schooled in tallying the quiet remains of the first global empire, as well as an inability to coax upstanding family companies, which for centuries have crafted textiles, ceramics and shoes, into competing with the Chinese.

ECONOMIST: Portugal