It also stipulates that overseas organizations wishing to conduct a survey on intangible cultural heritage must ally themselves with at least one Chinese culture regulator as a local partner. Written approval must be obtained from local authorities at the provincial level or above before an overseas survey team can carry out fieldwork in China.

But some legislators have said applications for surveys by foreign individuals should also go through regulators at provincial level. The new version of the draft prohibits foreign organizations and individuals from doing surveys on their own.

On-site surveying and collection of data form the basis of preserving and protecting the nation's rich cultural heritage, said Li.

"Forms of intangible cultural heritage are closely associated with the fundamental rights and interests of the Chinese people. These protected cultural assets may play an important role in the development of communities and ethnic groups," said Wang Heyun, a researcher with China Ethnic Law Studies Association.

Nonetheless, the absence of a clearly defined law in this area during recent decades has resulted in the loss of and damage to some of the nation's intangible cultural treasures. Some organizations and individuals from abroad have taken advantage of this legal loophole, experts said.

These groups or individuals have even videotaped how some treasures are created in many of China's remote, mountainous areas, said Cao Baoming, president of Jilin Provincial Folk Artists Association.

There have been reports of cases involving the fishing culture of the Hezhe ethnic people in Heilongjiang province, Cao said.

"Forms of intangible cultural heritage are important; they are of high economic value too," said Zhou Anping, a law professor with Southwest University in Chongqing.

The establishment of a legal system to protect forms of intangible cultural heritage and related intellectual property rights "may help close loopholes in the existing intellectual property rights protection mechanism", Zhou said.