Chinese scientists are taking measures to protect the country's cultural heritage from as many threatening factors as possible, including vibrations.

Monday's China Daily quotes Pan Fulan, an official in charge of the research on vulnerable sites protection, as saying that a standard to rate the threat industrial vibration poses to cultural and historic sites has been drawn up by Chinese scientists and is expected to be adopted as a national standard.

"The standard will be put into operation later this year, to contribute to the better protection of cultural and historical sites," said Gu Yucai, deputy director of the cultural heritage protection department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Industrial vibration has become a serious threat to cultural relics and historical sites around the world, said Pan, who heads research at China's major cultural sites.

In the past four years, Pan and her research group monitored and survey dozens of sites.

They have now established vibration limits which can be withstood by different types of historical site.

Ancient wood and brick buildings and caves are all likely to be protected by the standard, according to the paper.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2005)