As China advances into an era of modernity and progress, the country is making efforts to preserve its past. The Great Wall of China's inclusion as one of the new seven wonders of the world, in Portugal's capital Lisbon, on July 7, was an important step toward preserving the world renowned symbol of China, and another, arguably more important step will begin later this year.

On September 30 China will embark on its third national cultural relics survey, which is expected to be completed in December 2011. A top priority of the survey will be relics in the country's remote ethnic areas. The study will, for the first time, cover villages, civilian residences, rural architectural sites, industrial heritage and cultural routes, according to Shan Jixiang, Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

National survey

It has been over 20 years since China held its last national survey on cultural relics, back in the 1980s and a new survey is in dire need, due to the country's enormous economic and social changes in the past two decades, said Shan this April.

He said the new assessment will focus on investigating and registering newly found, unmovable cultural relics, adding that there will be special emphasis on the status of cultural relics in remote western regions.

"First, some relics in the region were not registered at all in the past surveys. Second, the region covers a vast area. Some counties have an area of about half the size of a southern province. Third, the financial condition there is not as good as other regions, and it requires more attention."

As planned, the five-year survey will be carried out in three phases: training for survey conductors will be completed between April and September this year; field investigations will finish by December, 2009; and finally, all the materials will be summarized and put into a database.

Shan said the definition of cultural relics has changed over time and their coverage has enlarged.

A historical city, as a whole, was listed among cultural relics for the first time in 1982, and in 2002, historical streets, villages and towns were included as objects for protection.

In recent years, some intangible cultural heritage, including cultural spaces and routes, have been listed as priorities for protection. "The national survey will target non-tangible cultural heritage as well as tangible heritage," he said.

According to Shan, the last national survey didn't cover traditional civilian residences, rural architecture, industrial heritage and cultural routes. These are new entries. Few well-known villages and towns were listed in the past. But their number will increase largely this time. Old brands and modern architectural sites, which received little attention in the past, will also be targets of this survey.

The aim of the survey, said the official, is to gain a clearer picture of the status of cultural relics in China, and serve as an important reference in making future policies.

World heritage sites emphasized

The application and protection of China's world heritage sites should be clearly included in the nation's cultural relics preservation system, and should be given greater attention, said Chinese Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng, in a working conference for world culture heritage sites at the end of 2006.

The cultural relics survey lays the groundwork for their protection and application for the world heritage list, according to Chinese relics experts. Applications for world heritage list status also enhance people's awareness of the nation's cultural relics.

With the country's stronger economy and increasing social development, China is attaching more importance to preserving its national treasures.