TAIYUAN -- North China's Shanxi province caught 200 suspects in cultural heritage-related crimes and solved 121 such cases last year, local police said.

In 2017, 28 gangs involved in the crimes were caught and nearly 2,400 items were retrieved in Shanxi, according to the provincial public security department.

In December of 2016, local police and provincial cultural heritage departments launched a four-month crackdown on such crimes, which was later extended to a year.

The campaign focused on theft of ancient tombs, ancient architecture, stone carvings, as well as frescoes and sculptures.

Shanxi is home to 452 cultural relics under state-level protection and more than 28,000 ancient architectural sites -- among the highest in all provincial regions.