Chengdu (CNS) — Wu Gaoliang and Wu Gaohui, two common villagers, jointly filed a lawsuit against government of Tongji Town at the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court on July 26, requiring them to return rare ebony taken from their contracted land.

Ebony is a dense, dark-colored and increasingly rare type of wood growing underground. Wu Gaoliang and his sister Wu Gaohui found ebony valued at 12 million yuan on their land this February. Later, the local town government stopped Wu from digging it up and transported away the unearthed part.

The town government awarded Wu Gaolaing 70,000 yuan on July 3.

The key question to this case is whether the county has ownership of the ebony. According to an online survey, 76.4 percent of interviewees agreed that ebony is not a cultural relic and belongs to the person who found it; 14.4 percent agreed it is hard to judge as there is no related regulation; and only 9.1 percent thought ownership belonged to the county.

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