China is to send teams of experts to the United States, Europe and Asia to find looted treasure. The teams will be looking for precious items stolen from Beijing's former Summer Palace nearly 150 years ago. Chinese experts believe 15 lakh items could have been taken from the site, which was destroyed by British and French troops. The mission abroad was announced by Chen Mingjie, the director of the former palace's management office. He said, the first team will be sent to the US, where they will scour museums, libraries and private collections. Experts will also visit Europe – principally the UK and France – and search Chinese collections across Asia, particularly those in Japan. Mr. Mingjie said based on rough calculations, about 15 lakh relics are housed in more than 200 museums in 47 countries.