BEIJING — A bronze horse head will be returned to the Old Summer Palace, or "Yuanmingyuan" in Chinese, according to China's National Cultural Heritage Administration on Nov 13.

It is the first repatriated animal head that will be housed at its original location, the Old Summer Palace.

Twelve animal head sculptures formed a zodiac water clock in Beijing's Yuanmingyuan, built by Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795). The originals were looted from the royal garden by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.

The horse head sculpture will also join the ongoing exhibition at the national museum which runs through late November, along with six other retrieved animal heads and returned relics.