In an era when cultural relics can bring in big profits, collector Qin Furong is taking a step to the side.

The former street cleaner in Xiangyang, Hubei province, who retired in 1995, found that life after work was not that appealing."I disliked the slow pace after retirement," said the 66-year-old.

Qin Furong shows her collection in Xiangyang, Hubei province.To kill time, she went around on the streets by bike, sometimes clearing rubbish along the Hanjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River.

One day she found some copper coins on the riverbank and at nearby construction sites, and took them home. She didn't realize the true value of her lucky discoveries until a few months later when she was reached by some ancient coin buyers.

"For some of the coins, they paid me 30 to 40 yuan ($5 to 6) each. The price was beyond what I had expected," she said.

As more and more such buyers approached her to purchase coins, she wondered why they targeted such "useless" old stuff. After careful research, she came to realize that what she had picked up were in fact antiques with rich cultural meanings.

"They are real historical treasures for our nation!" she said.

So Qin rejected all the buyers' inquiries and refused to sell her coins. Since then, she has come to the river every day before dawn, hunting for pieces of the past.She is not the only one looking for antiques along the river, however.

"But I collect to protect and donate them to the government, rather than sell them for money," she said.

She has collected coins, gold rings, silver bracelets, glazed ceramic chips and more than 2,000 pieces of bronze ware.

Last year, Qin donated more than 2,000 valuable antiques to the city museum without asking for any compensation or benefit. Her collections were put on display for the public in June.

To read the complete article, see:Collector picks up pieces of the past(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-11/24/content_14150718.htm)