Cultural relics need more protection: official  

中国官方强调田野文物安全 盗掘盗窃仍多发

中国国家文物局局长励小捷9日在湖南长沙召开的田野文物安全现场会上指出，各级文物行政部门要把田野文物安全摆到文物安全工作的首要位置，全面提升田野文物安全工作水平。

Changsha (CNS) -- We should prioritize the protection of outdoor cultural relics, Gu Xiaojie, director of China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH), said at a national work meeting in Changsha on Sunday.

Ancient ruins, tombs, stone carvings and cave temples account for 46.59 percent of China's immovable cultural relics, and the majority of them are in remote areas, making them hard to defend, said Gu.

In the first half of this year, the SACH received 143 cases involving cultural relics, 91 of which were related to the robbing of ancient tombs and ruins, Gu added.

The underground trading of cultural relics runs in a complex network, and we must prepare to fight a long-term battle against it, said Gu.

Police and officials from 16 provinces rich in cultural relics attended the meeting.