The best way to reclaim these antiques was to dispatch specialists around the country to locate and buy them back. Rongbaozhai, as an enterprise partly owned by the government and with more than a century of experience in fine art, joined the effort to locate and restore lost antiques. Because of the company's proven ability as an appraiser of antiques, Rongbaozhai became the government's leading agent to buy back the lost treasures.

Most of the pieces purchased through Rongbaozhai were paintings and calligraphy from the Ming (1358 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties, eras in which these arts thrived.

Although the cross-regional transfer of cultural relics was forbidden, the Ministry of Culture granted special permission to Rongbaozhai to scour the entire country for treasures. It also gave the agents access to local governments as well as a great deal of financial support.

As Rongbaozhai's collection of recovered artwork grew, it became apparent that many of the items were damaged and in desperate need of repair. And all of them, whether damaged or not, were in need of careful protection.

With the public-private joint ownership reform, the most prominent picture restorers and framers on Liulichang Street all went to work at Rongbaozhai. For a time, the skill of the technicians' there rivaled those of the Forbidden City.

Of the many works that were restored at Rongbaozhai, the most famous and most difficult one was the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) Tripitaka.

Rongbaozhai continued to add to its own collection as well.

Years before Rongbaozhai had started out selling paper, and was a specialist in the Four Treasures of the Studio: paper, brushes, ink and ink stones. Its collection of writing implements was extensive, and included many examples of Tianhuang stone, known as the "emperor of stones."

In the 1980s, someone sent a message to Rongbaozhai saying that they had found a 4.5-kilogram Tianhuang stone in Shoushan Village, Fujian Province. The experts at Rongbaozhai were skeptical: chances of finding such a stone were very slim indeed. But they decided that it was certainly worth checking, so they dispatched agents to Shoushan.

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