Evidence : This is a picture of the stolen Buddha statue containing the remains of meditating monk Zhanggong Liuquan and who villagers believe is currently in Holland . Three-hundreds Chinese villagers have signed a petition demanding the return of a 1,000-year-old relic containing a mummified monk . They believe that the Buddha statue on display in Holland is the same that was stolen from Spring Village , Fujian , in 1995 , the People 's Daily Online reports . Now they are calling on Dutch Prime Minister , Mark Rutte , to hand back their 'ancestral patriarch ' , Buddhist Zhanggong Liuquan . The letter states : 'In our hearts he is not a cultural display item to be placed in a museum but a living Buddha that is respected and revered by us all . 'This is a tradition that is deeply important to our way of life . He has looked over us for over 1000 years and is a testament to our historical and cultural heritage . ' Locals say Zhanggong Liuquan did many good things for villagers such as curing illnesses free of charge . When he died , people made his body a statue before the body rotted , and then they placed the body in the memorial hall of the village ever since . The Buddhist has become a spiritual sustenance for locals . The statue was first displayed in Drents Museum in the Netherlands in 2014 , causing the Cultural Relics Bureau to launch an investigation . Scroll down for video . They found photographs and historical records that supported the claim that it in fact belonged to a temple in the village . A Buddha statue ( left ) containing a mummified monk ( right ) was actually stolen from a village temple twenty years ago , Chinese experts believe . The private owner , who wants to stay anonymous , bought the relic in 1996 at a European market . The mummified remains were discovered at the end of February after he took the statue to the museum in the Netherlands to be restored . According to various Chinese media , the Dutch collector said he is willing to return the Buddha statue if it is proved to be the one stolen from Fujian . The mummified remains were discovered at the end of February after a private owner took the statue to Drents Museum at the Meander Medical Centre in the Netherlands for restoration . Above , the museum completes a CT scan . Erik Bruijn , an Buddhism expert , determined the mummy dated back to the 11th or 12th century and was Buddhist master Liuquan . Above , a scientist examines the base of the statue . The remains had been due to be put on display at the Hungarian Natural History Museum until May 2015 . But they have now been pulled after people at Drents museum , which completed the CT scan and endoscopy , requested they were no longer used . The villagers now hope that the issue can be raised during the visit of the Dutch prime minister to China , paving the way for it to be repatriated to its rightful home .
Villagers say relic is their 'ancestral patriarch ' who gives spiritual guidance . They plan to hand petition to Dutch PM in scheduled visit to Fujian . Dutch collector vowed to give it back if proved it belongs to China .