A thundering jade cloud serpent, which dates to the Hongshan Culture (4700BC to 2900BC), is among the recovered artifacts. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese police have arrested 175 people in what's being touted as the largest-ever bust of tomb raiders since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, and recovered 1,168 cultural relics.

The group was accused of illegal excavations in Niuheliang, a Neolithic site in northeastern Liaoning province. Their activities have seriously damaged the site, said the ministry. The cultural relics which seized by authorities estimated to be worth around 500 million yuan ($80 million).