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China Calls for Stricter Protection of World Heritage
Chinese officials and experts attending a national conference Tuesday called for stricter protection of world heritage.
"Greater efforts should be made to protect world heritage sites and ban the construction of facilities that are not in harmony with these sites," said Ma Zishu, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, at the National Working Conference on World Heritage.
The three-day meeting, co-sponsored by the China National Commission for UNESCO, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and the Ministry of Construction, is focusing on delving into urgent problems to protect world heritage sites.
Zhang Xuezhong, secretary general of the China National Commission for UNESCO, said that China has made significant progress in protecting its rich cultural heritage.
Official figures show that 23 of the country's scenic spots and historical sites, such as Mount Taishan and the Imperial Palace, have been put on the World Heritage list.
China now ranks fourth in the world in terms of the number of world heritage sites, following Italy, Spain and France.
Applications for more places of historic interest and scenic beauty to be listed as world heritage sites are subject to the approval of UNESCO.
However, China and many other countries, face problems such as excessive logging and inappropriate construction at world heritage sites.
Yang Luyu, Vice Minister of Construction, said that laws and regulations should be further improved to ensure the protection of these sites. Measures must be taken to increase the public awareness of the importance of world heritage protection, he added.
According to statistics released in January this year, there are 630 world heritage sites in 116 countries.
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