BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China's cultural heritage protection has made progress, but many problems still exist and need to be solved, said the Minister of Culture on Thursday.

    Sun Jiazheng said that China has established over 30 regulations based on the law of cultural relics protection. A law on intangible cultural relics protection was also put on the drafting schedule of China's top legislature.

    China has also joined four international conventions concerning cultural heritage protection and investment in cultural heritage protection has also increased, he added.

    Statistics show that from 2000 to 2005 when China carried out its 10th Five-Year Development Plan, total investment in the field reached 7.889 billion yuan (around 0.9 billion U.S. dollars). With financial support from government, China also launched a nationwide campaign to search and protect cultural heritage in 2003.

    China has so far included a total of 2,351 cultural relics sites and 518 intangible cultural heritages on the list of national protection sites. Restoration and maintenance have been carried out on important cultural heritage sites such as Potala Palace in Tibet and Palace Museum in Beijing.

    "Chinese museums have seen a boom in recent years," Sun said. China has more than 2,300 museums staging nearly 10,000 expositions every year and attracting audience of 150 million.

    However, Sun said, cultural relics in China now face great challenges posed by economic globalization and urbanization. Many historic cities and scenic spots have been destroyed. Illegal trade and smuggling activities have not been curbed, which has led to the loss of national treasures overseas.

    What's worse, many important cultural heritage sites have declined or are hard to pass on due to excessive exploration and inappropriate use. And cultural relics held by minority ethnic groups have lost their identity due to the changing lifestyle of the people, Sun said.

    "Therefore, we should keep our mind clear and take more concrete steps to better protect cultural heritage, and mobilize the whole society to participate in this cause," Sun stressed. Enditem