China to advance joint archaeological initiatives, promote cultural relics recovery

BEIJING, July 29 -- China will expand joint archaeological initiatives in Austronesian-speaking regions, trans-Himalayan areas, and corridors along the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road, according to a plan outlining the country's cultural heritage development through 2030.

Released by the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) on Wednesday, the plan seeks to strengthen the methods used to trace Chinese cultural artifacts overseas, and advance efforts to retrieve lost cultural relics.

It also pushes for greater Chinese participation in global cultural heritage governance and expanded international partnerships, including new protection cooperation agreements with more countries worldwide.

Looking ahead to 2030, China expects annual museum visits to reach 1.6 billion, up from 1.56 billion registered in 2025.

To support the growth, the authority urges museums to launch high-quality exhibitions showcasing the defining features of Chinese civilization, while boosting cross-museum resource sharing.

Through 2030, the NCHA plans to finish the fourth national cultural relics census, compile a national master catalogue of immovable cultural relic resources, and build a national comprehensive database of cultural heritage resources, as part of broader work to strengthen systematic cultural relics protection.

Beyond conservation efforts, the plan also calls for strengthened oversight and inspection of cultural relics security, with severe legal penalties for crimes including illegal excavation, smuggling, trafficking and destruction of cultural relics.

The blueprint proposes deeper archaeological research to study the origins, formation and development of Chinese civilization.

As outlined in the document, five new national archaeological site parks will be established by 2030, raising the country's total number of such parks to 70.