China's relics safety situation 'grave': report

A senior legislator has said China's protection of cultural relics is "disproportionate" to the country's wealth of ancient history.

Lu Yongxiang, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks Tuesday while delivering a report on the law enforcement inspections pertaining to the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics.

"Some local governments and enterprises have demolished at will sites and buildings with historical and cultural value during urban constructions... In some cases, archaeological surveys were deliberately avoided to make way for the implementation of construction projects," Lu said, citing the report.

The inspection, which was conducted in April and May, is the first of its kind on a national scale since the cultural relics protection law was promulgated in 1982.

A five-year census on the country's fixed cultural heritage found earlier this year that construction projects were responsible for more than half of 40,000-plus fixed cultural relics "disappearing" over the past 30 years.