China has a long way to go in composing protection plans for its cultural legacies, Shan Jixiang, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH), said recently at a seminar in Beijing.

    According to Shan, there are 138 ancient cities listed for national-level protection in China, but a special protection plan was only made for 16 of them. Though plans are being made for another 46 ancient city ruins, more than 55 percent of ancient cities remain without special protection plans.

    Damage to cultural legacy was once regarded as a natural outcome in the process of economic development and urbanization. A country with a huge population and abundant cultural heritage, China might have more losses to endure than other countries, Shan said.

    Much tangible or intangible cultural heritage is on the edge of extinction, Shan acknowledged.

    He said the protection plan should be incorporated into the overall plan for urban development. A national standard on the protection of cultural heritage and the surrounding environment will be made in the next five years.

    He cited some good examples in achieving balance between economic growth and heritage protection, such as the protection of the ruins of the 1,300-year-old Daming Palace in Xi'an, the ancient capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the largest imperial architectural complex of the imperial Tang Dynasty (618-907), and the 3,000-year-old Yin ruins at Anyang City, in central China's Henan Province.

    "Experience from those protection projects shows that appropriate measures can not only protect cultural heritage but also improve the living standards of local people and the surrounding environment," Shan added.

    The Chinese government stepped up the protection of ruins of large ancient cities this year, and will earmark 250 million yuan (about 31.25 million US dollars) for the protection of large heritage sites annually.