National Business Daily:

In recent years, visiting museums and cultural relics has become a trend among Chinese people, which reflects China's development in the sector of cultural relics. What achievements have been made in utilizing and protecting cultural relics in the past decade? Thank you.

Rao Quan:

Work related to cultural relics has received public attention in recent years. Let's invite Mr. Jin Ruiguo from the NCHA to answer this question.

Jin Ruiguo:

Thank you for your question and your attention to cultural and museum undertakings. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached unprecedented importance to the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the preservation and inheritance of cultural heritage. The work related to cultural relics has realized historical achievements under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, with coordination among departments, efforts from local governments, broad participation of the society, and hard work from the personnel in the field of cultural relics.

First, people have gained a better awareness of protecting cultural relics. Philosophies have taken roots in people's minds, such as the primary role of protection, cultural relics protection counting as good political performance, and bringing cultural relics to life. The 19th CPC National Congress and the fifth and sixth plenary sessions of the 19th CPC Central Committee all made general plans to utilize and protect cultural relics, and the CPC Central Committee rolled out six relevant documents. For the first time, a national plan for the preservation of cultural relics and related technological innovation during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) has been issued. A total of 27 provincial governments have included cultural relics safety into their work assessment systems.

Second, efforts have been intensified to preserve cultural relics, which have been better protected. We conducted the country's' first census on moveable cultural artifacts and a survey about grotto temples. We released 5,058 major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level in two batches. The number of historical and cultural sites protected at the national, provincial, and municipal and county levels increased by 115%, 58%, and 88%, respectively. Major projects were finished to protect historical and cultural sites, including the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, the Silk Road, and traditional villages. With precaution and systematical protection, tens of thousands of cultural relics preserved by museums and unearthed were rescued and repaired. The long-term mechanism to ensure the safety of cultural relics has been improved as progress was made in cracking down on crimes and violations of laws related to cultural relics and fire prevention. In general, the safety of cultural relics has been better ensured.

Third, the reform of cultural relics museums has continued to advance, and their influence has greatly improved. A modern museum system with abundant genres, diverse subjects, and equal inclusive benefits has basically been formed. There are 6,183 registered museums nationwide, 91% of which are free of charge, and there's been an increase of 144% in annual exhibition, and a 119% increase in the number of visitors. Exhibitions such as "The Splendor of Asia," "The Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties," "Pursuing Eternity," and "The Making of Zhongguo" have become social and cultural hot topics. TV programs such as "National Treasure," "Every Treasure Tells a Story," "Chinese Archaeology Assembly," and "Gu Yun Xin Sheng (Ancient Rhymes' New Sound)" have ignited big and small screens. Visiting museums has become a new trend in society. The protection and utilization project for revolutionary cultural relics has been implemented in depth, helping poverty alleviation, revitalization of the old revolutionary base areas, and education on the history of Party, the country, the reform and opening up, and socialist development. The Museum of the Communist Party of China and the Memorial Hall for the CPC's Early Revolutionary Activities in Beijing were completed and opened. The NCHA supports and guides the private collection of cultural relics and optimizes inbound and outbound cultural relics supervision and cultural relics identification consulting services. To date, there are 56 World Heritage Sites in China. Sino-foreign joint archaeology is gradually increasing. Cross-border cultural relics protection cooperation has been solidly carried out. The exhibitions of inbound and outbound cultural relics are diverse, colorful, and splendid. There are frequent highlights in the recovery and return of lost cultural relics, with more than 1,800 pieces (sets) of lost cultural relics having been returned to the motherland from overseas. Cultural relics have become a "golden business card" for promoting exchange and mutual learning among civilizations. 

Fourth, the management capacity of cultural relics has been continuously enhanced, and the management level has been continuously improved. The State Council promulgated the Museum Regulations and revised the Regulations Concerning the Protection and Management of Underwater Cultural Relics, while localities have issued more than 200 local regulations on the protection of cultural relics and 113 national and industrial standards in the field of cultural relic protection have also been issued and implemented. The scientific and technological innovation capability for cultural relics has been significantly improved. The technical level of protection of ancient murals, painted pottery cultural relics, water-saturated lacquer woodware, and the environmental monitoring and regulation of the preservation of cultural relics in museum collections have entered the world's top class. The system for cultivating cultural relics and museum talents has become more complete. Cultural relics and archaeology institutions are generally strengthened, and archaeological field allowances will be significantly increased.

Recently, the national conference on cultural heritage and relics was held in Beijing, putting forward the cultural relics work principle in the new era, which is "make protection the top priority, strengthen management, explore the value, make effective use, and make cultural relics come alive," and making clear the goals and tasks. Next, we will thoroughly study and implement the principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions and instructions on cultural relics work, and implement the deployment of the national conference on cultural heritage and relics. Through vigorous and determined endeavors, we will work hard to promote the cultural relics cause to foster a new pattern and reach a new level, so that cultural relics and cultural heritages will bloom with new brilliance in the new era. Thank you.

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