BEIJING, Dec. 19 -- China plans to conduct its third national survey of cultural relics.

    Head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shan Qixiang, made the announcement at a meeting on cultural relics in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province.

    He said that cultural authorities plan to list all non-registered, non-removable, underground relics during the coming five years. Following this, the relevant grade of protection for these relics will be proclaimed, in accordance with their cultural importance as determined after an expert review.

    Shan Qixiang also noted that China had conducted two surveys of the country¡¯s cultural relics, in the 1950s and the 1980s, and it is now again necessary to collect up to date information on the subject.

    China has 31 cultural sites on the UN¡¯s World Heritage List, and more than 1,000 places are named on the national key list of protected cultural relics in the country.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)