Officials from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the
National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Construction
said yesterday in Beijing a new law concerning the nation's
historical relics will play a vital role in protecting China's rich
heritage.
The new law will facilitate the protection of China's cultural
relics from excessive tourism industry development and rapid
infrastructure construction, said the head of the State
Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shan Jixiang.
In
a meeting held jointly by the three central government departments
to introduce the newly passed Law for Protection of Cultural
Relics, Shan said any government department found auctioning,
renting, transferring or mortgaging cultural heritage relics will
be punished accordingly.
Shan pointed to the World Cultural Heritage of Wudang Mountain in
Shiyan, Central China's Hubei Province. A 1,000-year-old palace in
the mountain, which was burned down after being rented by a private
kung fu school.
He
noted an investigation has been launched into the administration of
the 28 World Natural and Cultural Heritage sites in China.
Gu
Zhaoxi, deputy head of the National Tourism Administration, said
the cultural heritage administrations should co-operate with the
tourism administration in developing archaeological sites to better
fund protection.
He
referred to the tourist-winning Dinosaur Park in Changzhou, East
China's Jiangsu Province, where geologists display dinosaur fossils
they have unearthed for visitors.
Fu
Wenjuan, vice-minister of construction, said the ministry will
allocate a special fund to protect historically significant
neighborhoods, villages and towns from damage by construction
activities.
(China Daily February 20, 2003)