4th national census set for cultural relics

The fourth national census of cultural relics will begin this month, with the aim of gaining a comprehensive grasp of the scope of the country's immovable cultural heritage sites, the State Council, China's Cabinet, has announced.

A database on cultural relics resources will be established. The identification and management of the relics, as well as protection mechanisms, will be improved. Moreover, professional talent for the protection of cultural relics will be cultivated, and awareness of relics protection will be raised in the whole society, according to the announcement on Friday.

Three censuses have previously been organized since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The third one, conducted from 2007 to 2011, identified a total of 766,722 immovable cultural heritage sites nationwide.