Number of major historical and cultural sites protected at national level in China increases 115 percent over last decade

Aerial photo taken on May 11, 2022 shows a Buddha statue at the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, north China's Shanxi Province. With 45 major caves and more than 51,000 statues, the 1,500-year-old Yungang Grottoes were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)

Since 2012, the number of major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level in China has increased by 115 percent, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China.

The country has made continuous improvements regarding the protection of cultural relics during the same period. It carried out the first national survey of movable cultural relics and grotto temples. In addition, major cultural relics protection projects for the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, and others have been completed.

Over the past 10 years, the amount of provincial-level cultural relics protection units has increased by 58 percent, and that of municipal and county-level has grown by 88 percent. The central government has allocated over 100 billion yuan ($14.78 billion) for the repair and protection of cultural relic sites.

Since 2012, the number of museums, exhibitions held by these museums annually, and the number of visitors to these museums annually has increased by 60 percent, 144 percent and 119 percent, respectively. 6,183 museums have been registered in the country and 91 of them are open to the public for free.