Protection of cultural heritage in China

　　2. To improve people's living quality while protecting historical cities in the accelerated process of urbanization is an issue that the Chinese government is determined to deal with.

　　The Chinese government has continued to reinforce the protection of cultural relics in the process of urbanization and has taken a series of measures to establish protective areas, buffer zones or controlled belts in the neighborhood of significant historical buildings, sites and monuments. As a result, initial achievements have been made in protecting cultural heritage itself and its surroundings. In addition, major explorations have been conducted in the following three aspects:

　　A) Improving the legal system concerning the protection of cultural relics and their surroundings, continuing to strengthen the enforcement and further speed up theoretical studies so as to make sure that legal means and theoretical studies will play a bigger role in the protection of cultural relics. Meanwhile, more efforts need to be made in working out national standards and technical specifications concerning the protection of cultural relics and their surroundings.

　　B) Speeding up the compilation of plans for the protection of cultural relics so that they can be given proper protection under the guidance of protection plans. Meanwhile, more efforts should be made in facilitating protection plans to be integrated into overall urban development plans, urban system plans and economic and social development plans, and in working out measures to implement protection plans on the dimension of country administration. Those efforts aim to achieve effective, scientific, reasonable and well-planned coordination between cultural relics protection and local economic and social development, thus realizing integral protection of values of cultural relics.

　　C) Attempting to guarantee the implementation of significant protection projects such as large-scale remains in cities, completing a number of model projects for the protection of key heritage sites, gradually developing a good natural, cultural and ecological environment for the protection of cultural relics, achieving harmonious and sustainable development of local communities and the natural environment and upgrading the living standards of local people.