Officials from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Construction said yesterday in Beijing a new law concerning the nation's historical relics will play a vital role in protecting China's rich heritage.

The new law will facilitate the protection of China's cultural relics from excessive tourism industry development and rapid infrastructure construction, said the head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shan Jixiang.

In a meeting held jointly by the three central government departments to introduce the newly passed Law for Protection of Cultural Relics, Shan said any government department found auctioning, renting, transferring or mortgaging cultural heritage relics will be punished accordingly.

Shan pointed to the World Cultural Heritage of Wudang Mountain in Shiyan, Central China's Hubei Province. A 1,000-year-old palace in the mountain, which was burned down after being rented by a private kung fu school.

He noted an investigation has been launched into the administration of the 28 World Natural and Cultural Heritage sites in China.

Gu Zhaoxi, deputy head of the National Tourism Administration, said the cultural heritage administrations should co-operate with the tourism administration in developing archaeological sites to better fund protection.

He referred to the tourist-winning Dinosaur Park in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, where geologists display dinosaur fossils they have unearthed for visitors.

Fu Wenjuan, vice-minister of construction, said the ministry will allocate a special fund to protect historically significant neighborhoods, villages and towns from damage by construction activities.

(China Daily February 20, 2003)