A court has sentenced the head of a tomb-raiding ring to death with a two-year reprieve for robbing ancient graves and trafficking in cultural relics stolen from the Hongshan cultural relics protection region.

Another three key members of the gang received life sentences for excavating ancient graves and cultural sites, Chaoyang Intermediate People's Court in Liaoning province said on Thursday.

"The high-profile tomb robbery case is considered the largest example of cultural relics robbery since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The number of cultural relics and people involved in the thefts both set records," the court said in a statement.