Chapter II Immovable Cultural Relics

Article 13 The administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the State Council shall select sites from among the ones protected for their significant historical, artistic or scientific value at the provincial, city or county level and designate them as major sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the national level, or shall directly designate such major sites, and report them to the State Council for verification and announcement.

Sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the provincial level shall be verified and announced by the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government, and be reported to the State Council for the record.

Sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the city or county level shall be verified and announced respectively by the people’s governments of cities divided into districts, of autonomous prefectures and of counties, and be reported to the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government for the record.

Immovable cultural relics of sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value that have not yet been verified and announced as such shall be registered and announced by the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at the county level.

Article 14 Cities with an unusual wealth of cultural relics of important historical value or high revolutionary memorial significance shall be verified and announced by the State Council as famous cities of historical and cultural value.

Towns, neighborhoods or villages with an unusual wealth of cultural relics of important historical value or high revolutionary memorial significance shall be verified and announced by the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government as famous neighborhood, villages or towns of historical and cultural value, and reported to the State Council for the record.

Local people’s governments at or above the county level in places where famous cities of historical and cultural value, or famous neighborhoods, villages or towns of historical and cultural value are located shall take charge of drawing up special plans for their protection and include such plans in their overall urban plans.

Measures for the protection of famous cities, famous neighborhoods, villages and towns of historical and cultural value shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 15 People’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government and of cities and counties shall respectively delimit the necessary area of protection, put up signs and notices, and establish records and files for the historical and cultural sites protected at the corresponding levels and shall, in the light of different circumstances, establish special organs or assign full-time persons to be responsible for control over these sites. The area of protection and records and files for the major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level shall be reported by the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government to the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the State Council for the record.

The administrative departments in charge of cultural relics under the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, on the basis of the requirements for the protection of different cultural relics, formulate specific protective measures for the immovable cultural relics of the sites protected for their historical and cultural value and of the sites that have not yet been verified as such, and announce the measures for implementation.

Article 16 When drawing up plans for urban and rural construction, the people’s governments at various levels shall, on the basis of the requirements for the protection of cultural relics, see to it that protective measures for the historical and cultural sites protected at different levels within their own administrative areas are first formulated through consultation between the departments for urban and rural construction planning and the administrative departments in charge of cultural relics and include such measures in their plans.

Article 17 No construction of additional projects or such operations as blasting, drilling and digging may be conducted within the area of protection for a historical and cultural site. However, where under special circumstances it is necessary to conduct construction of additional projects or such operations as blasting, drilling and digging within the area of protection for such a site, its safety shall be guaranteed, and the matter shall be subject to approval by the people’s government which originally verified and announced the site and which, before giving approval, shall ask consent of the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at the next higher level; and where construction of additional projects or such operations as blasting, drilling and digging are to be conducted within the area of protection for a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level, the matter shall be subject to approval by the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, which, before giving approval, shall ask consent of the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the State Council.

Article 18 On the basis of the actual needs for the protection of cultural relics and with the approval of the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, a certain area for control of construction may be delimited around a site protected for its historical and cultural value, and such an area shall be announced.

No construction of a project conducted in an area for control of construction may deform the historical features of the site protected for its historical and cultural value; and the design for the project shall, in correspondence with the protection level of the site protected for its historical and cultural value, be subject to consent by the appropriate administrative department in charge of cultural relics before it is submitted to the department for urban and rural construction planning for approval.

Article 19 No facilities that pollute the sites protected for their historical and cultural value or their environment may be put up within the area of protection for these sites or the area for control of construction, and no activities that may adversely affect the safety and environment of these sites may be conducted. Where there are already facilities that pollute the sites and their environment, they shall be brought under control within a specified time limit.

Article 20 While choosing a place for a construction project, the construction unit shall try its best to get around the site of immovable cultural relics; where it is impossible to do so under special circumstances, it shall do everything it can to protect the original site protected for its historical and cultural value.

Where the original site is to be protected, the construction unit shall first work out protective measures and, in correspondence with the level of protection for the site, submit the measures to the appropriate administrative department in charge of cultural relics for approval, and include the measures in its feasibility study report or in the design in which the task of protection is specified.

Where it is impossible to protect the original site or the site needs to be moved to another place or dismantled, the matter shall be reported to the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval; where a site protected for its historical and cultural value at the provincial level needs to be moved to another place or dismantled, consent of the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the State Council shall be asked prior to approval. No major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level may be dismantled; where such a site needs to be moved to another place, the matter shall be reported by the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government to the State Council for approval.

Among the State-owned immovable cultural relics to be dismantled in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the murals, carvings, building components, etc. which are worthy of collecting shall be collected by the institution for the collection of cultural relics designated by the administrative department in charge of cultural relics.

The expenses required for protecting, moving to another place or dismantling an original site as provided for by this Article shall be included in the budget of the construction unit for the construction project.

Article 21 Users of State-owned immovable cultural relics shall be responsible for their repairs and maintenance; and the owners of the immovable cultural relics not owned by the State shall be responsible for their repairs and maintenance. Where the immovable cultural relics not owned by the State are in danger of damage and the owner cannot afford their repairs, the local people’s government shall offer the owner assistance; and where the owner can afford their repairs but refuses to perform his obligation to repair them as required by law, the people’s government at or above the county level may make emergency repairs and the expenses entailed shall be borne by the owner.

Repairs to be made for sites protected for their historical and cultural value shall, in correspondence with their different levels of protection, be subject to approval by the appropriate administrative department in charge of cultural relics; and repairs to be made for the immovable cultural relics of the sites that are not yet verified as ones protected for their historical and cultural value shall be subject to approval by the administrative departments in charge of cultural relics under the people’s governments at the county level with which the sites are registered.

The repairs, removal, or reconstruction of a site protected for its historical and cultural value shall be undertaken by the unit that has obtained the qualification certificate for projects designed to protect cultural relics.

In the repairing, maintaining and removing immovable cultural relics, the principle of keeping the cultural relics in their original state shall be adhered to.

Article 22 Where immovable cultural relics are totally damaged, the ruins shall be protected and the damaged relics may not be rebuilt on the original site. However, where under special circumstances it is necessary to have such relics rebuilt on the original site, the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall submit the matter to the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval; and where a major site protected for its historical and cultural value at the national level needs to be rebuilt on the original site, the matter shall be submitted by the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government to the State Council for approval.

Article 23 Where a memorial building or an ancient architectural structure owned by the State, which is verified as a site protected for its historical and cultural value, is to be used for purposes other than the establishment of a museum, a cultural relics preservation institute or a tourist site, the unit at the city or county level that is in charge of protection of the historical and cultural relics shall, through the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government that originally verified and announced the site as such, seek the consent of the administrative department in charge of cultural relics at the next higher level, before submitting a report to the said people’s government for approval; where the unit at the provincial level that is in charge of protection of a site for its historical and cultural value is concerned, it shall submit the matter for examination and approval to the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the provincial people’s government that originally verified and announced the site as such, before submitting a report to the said people’s government for approval; and where a major site protected for its historical and cultural value at the national level is to be used for other purposes, the matter shall be submitted by the people’s government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government to the State Council for approval. Where the State-owned immovable cultural relics of the site that is not verified as one protected for its historical and cultural value are to be used for other purposes, the matter shall be reported to the administrative department in charge of cultural relics under the people’s government at the county level.

Article 24 No immovable cultural relics owned by the State may be transferred or mortgaged. No State-owned sites protected for their historical and cultural value, which are established as museums or cultural relics preservation institutes or used as tourist sites may be made enterprise assets for business operation.

Article 25 No immovable cultural relics not owned by the State may be transferred or mortgaged to foreigners.

The transfer and mortgage of the immovable cultural relics not owned by the State, or the change in their use shall, in correspondence with their different grades, be reported to the appropriate administrative departments in charge of cultural relics for the record; and where their repairs are to be financed by the local people’s government, the matter shall be submitted to the appropriate administrative departments in charge of cultural relics for approval.

Article 26 The principle of keeping the immovable cultural relics in their original state shall be adhered to in their use, and the users shall be responsible for the safety of the structures and the cultural relics attached to them, see to it that the immovable cultural relics are not damaged, rebuilt or dismantled and that no additional structures are built on the site.

With regard to the buildings or structures that threaten the safety of the sites protected for their historical and cultural value or damage their historical features, the local people’s government shall, without delay, investigate and handle the matter, and when necessary, it may have such buildings or structures dismantled or moved to other places.