Protection of cultural heritage in China

　　Exchange and cooperation with other countries and regions in the field of cultural relics have maintained a good momentum. Some 60 exhibitions on cultural relics are organized abroad annually and active exchange and cooperation have been conducted in archeological survey and excavation, cultural relics protection, personnel training and academic intercourse. China has actively participated in and offered aids to the protection and restoration of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Bogd Khan Palace in Mongolia, and successfully hosted the 28th World Heritage Conference and the 15th ICOMOS General Assembly.

　　Local economic and cultural development has been increasingly benefited from endeavors for the protection of cultural heritage. In areas with rich cultural heritage resources such as Beijing, Xi'an, Chengde, Qufu, Pingyao and Lijiang, some of their heritage sites and museums have become world-famous tourist destinations-the Forbidden City, Dunhuang Research Institute and Emperor's Qing's Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, to name a few. More and more heritage sites and museums have been regarded by the general public as ideal venues for learning, leisure and traveling.

　　Ⅲ. Challenges facing the protection of cultural heritage in China

　　The protection of cultural heritage in China is now at a critical stage, facing the growing trend of urbanization and tremendous challenges and pressures posed by the construction of large-scale infrastructure projects. It is a significant challenge to guarantee the smooth construction of the country's key large-scale infrastructure projects while putting cultural relics under strong protection

　　1. The Chinese government attaches vital importance to the protection of cultural heritage in the construction of infrastructures and demands that surveys by cultural heritage administrations be conducted before a construction project is launched and the project bypass verified unmovable cultural relics. If unmovable cultural relics are discovered in areas that an infrastructure project has to go through, cultural heritage administrations must decide to protect them in their original sites or conduct rescue excavation for the convenience of the project construction. Over the past decade, Chinese archeological professionals have conducted successful rescue excavations involved with the construction of a number of large or medium-scale infrastructure projects, including the Xiaolangdi Reservoir over the Yellow River, the Three Gorges Dam over the Yangtze River, the transmission of natural gas from west to east China, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the double-tracking railway between Langzhou and Baoji.

　　During the construction of the Three Gorges Dam project, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage mobilized some 60 institutes, organizations and universities specializing in the field of archeological studies, restoration of ancient architectures and cultural heritage protection to conduct rescue investigations, surveys, excavations and conservations. As a result, 1,087 sites of unmovable cultural relics were discovered in the inundated area. Before the water storage project was launched, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized large-scale excavations in the inundated area, achieving a number of significant archeological discoveries and unearthing a multitude of samples and exquisite artifacts with high research value.

　　Rescue and protection of cultural heritage involved with the project of water diversion from south to north China will be a key priority in the protection of cultural relics in China in the years to come. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has already mobilized professionals throughout the country to conduct surveys and protection prior to the construction. Along the middle and east routes of the project, which go through seven provinces and municipalities under the administration of the central government, a total of 710 heritage sites are involved in the project's first-phase construction. After repeated coordination with water conservancy departments, most important unmovable cultural relics have been bypassed in the planning of the project and proper measures have been adopted to better protect ground cultural relics. On the basis of comprehensive surveys of underground cultural relics, archeological excavation will be conducted in planned scales. It is planned to excavate an area of nearly 1.7 million square meters, with an estimated expenditure of 1 billion RMB.