China to launch national survey of cultural relics

China's National Cultural Heritage Administration will launch a national survey of cultural relics later this year, according to a meeting Thursday attended by officials from the country's cultural heritage authorities.

The survey will take three to four years to learn about the amount, whereabouts, features, and conditions of immovable cultural relics across the country, said Li Qun, head of the administration.

According to Li, a national catalog of immovable cultural heritage will be established based on the survey for a more accurate assessment of the situation of the relics' protection and sounder policies on the protection.

Apart from examining, registering, and identifying newly-found immovable relics, the survey will focus on re-examining the relics already registered and identified, said Deng Chao, an official with the administration.

A list of institutions on the protection of cultural relics will be made public along with the mentioned catalog, he said, adding that the survey also aims to help improve the personnel for the relics' protection and raise the public's awareness of protecting cultural relics.

The survey will be the fourth of its kind in China. The third national survey of cultural relics took place from April 2007 to December 2011, with over 760,000 immovable cultural relics examined and registered.