Came across an old website created by Pittsburgh-based Roger Schwendeman around 2008, but still live as we went to press, so to speak, all about Chinese antiques, including some architectural salvage and stories about fakes and forgeries.
 
Mr Schwendeman writes that some reclaimed doors are treated as salvaged wood and used as material. As people trade in their old Chinese traditional courtyard houses and hutong dwellings for new high rise buildings salvaged building materials abound and doors are no exception. Large doors are also turned into tables for upscale salvaged interiors in U.S. cities.
 
When a Chinese traditional homes is demolished to make way for the new, elements like antique window screens, carved panels & screens and other architectural elements are typically salvaged to be reborn as decorative items in modern homes.
 
Schwendeman includes a comprehensive page on Chinese law on the protection of cultural relics including taking or Bringing Cultural Relics out of or into China. He writes that first and second class antiquities have a zero chance of being legally exported. One rule of thumb is, if it looks like it belongs in a museum, then either its a fake or you likely have major problems. Fortunately the majority of items foreigners purchase are reproductions, fakes or converted items.
 
Common misconceptions about exporting antiques:
Anything made before 1911 cannot be exported (false)
Screens and carvings cannot be exported (false)
Tibetan items cannot be taken out of the country (false)
No antiques can be taken outside of china (false)
Cultural products of minorities made 1949 or earlier cannot be exported (false)
 
Fakes are nothing new in China. From fake Apple stores & fake Ikea stores to fake rice made from plastic and even fake cities, almost everyday there is something new in China that is being faked, including & especially antiques. So it's no surprise that there are also museums which are filled with fakes as well - see China's Jiboazhai Museum.
 
Last week we wrote about the movement of illegally logged hardwood to China. It is possible that this is being used to fake antique, reclaimed and salvaged items in China for export to the western world.