NPC

National People's Congress (NPC)

Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China - 30th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on November 4, 2017

Article 3 Unmovable cultural relics, such as sites of ancient culture, ancient tombs, ancient architectural structures, cave temples, stone carvings, mural paintings, and important historical sites and typical buildings of modern and contemporary times, etc., may be determined as major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level, historical and cultural sites protected at the province level and historical and cultural sites protected at the level of city or county.

Movable cultural relics, such as important material objects, artworks, documents, manuscripts, books and materials, and typical material objects, etc., are divided into valuable cultural relics and ordinary cultural relics; valuable cultural relics are divided into Grade 1 cultural relics, Grade 2 cultural relics and Grade 3 cultural relics.

Article 34 The results of archaeological investigations, prospecting or excavations shall be reported to the department of cultural relics administration under the State Council and the departments of cultural relics administration of the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government

Cultural relics excavated shall be registered and appropriately kept, and be transferred to state-owned museums, libraries or other state-owned cultural relics collection entities designated by the cultural relics administrative departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, or by the cultural relics administrative department of the State Council. With the approval of the cultural relics administrative departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the entities undertaking archaeological excavations may keep a small amount of unearthed cultural relics as samples for scientific research.

No entity or individual may take any of the cultural relics excavated into its or his own possession.

Article 36 Museums, libraries and other institutions as well as other cultural relics collection entities must classify the cultural relics in their collection by different grades, compile files for the relics kept thereby, establish a strict system of control and report for record with the competent departments of cultural relics administration.

Departments of cultural relics administration of the local people's governments at and above the county level shall compile files for the cultural relics in the collection of cultural institutions within their respective administrative jurisdictions; the department of cultural relics administration under the State Council shall compile files for Grade 1 cultural relics of the state and for the cultural relics in the collection of state-owned cultural relics collection entities governed by it.

Article 50 Citizens, legal persons and other organizations other than cultural relics collection entities may collect the cultural relics obtained through the following methods:

(1) Legal inheritance or accepting donations;

(2) Purchasing from cultural relics shops;

(3) Purchasing from enterprises undertaking cultural relics auctions;

(4) Exchanging or transferring cultural relics legally owned by individual citizens pursuant to law;

(5) Other legal methods provided for by the state.

Cultural relics, prescribed in the preceding paragraph, that are collected by citizens, legal persons and other organizations other than cultural relics collection entities may be circulated pursuant to law.

Article 51 Citizens, legal persons and other organizations may not trade any of the following cultural relics:

(1) State-owned cultural relics, except those of which trading is permitted by the state;

(2) Non-state-owned valuable cultural relics in institution collection;

(3) Mural paintings, sculptures and construction components, etc. included in state-owned unmovable culture relics, however, with the exception of the mural paintings, sculptures and construction components, etc. included in state-owned unmovable culture relics that have been dismantled pursuant to law, and those that don't fall within the range of cultural relics which shall be collected by culture relics collection entities as provided for in Item 4) of Article 20 of this Law;

(4) Cultural relics of which the sources don't conform to Article 50 of this Law.

Article 52 The state encourages citizens, legal persons and other organizations other than cultural relics collection entities to donate the cultural relics they collect to collection entities of state-owned cultural relics or lend them to cultural relics collection entities for exhibition and research.

Collection entities of state-owned cultural relics shall respect and follow the will of the donators, and appropriately collect, keep and display the donated cultural relics.

Cultural relics prohibited by the state from exiting China may not be transferred, leased or pledged to foreigners.

Article 53 Cultural relics shops shall be established upon the approval of the departments of cultural relics administration of the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and be run pursuant to law.

Cultural relics shops may not engage cultural relics auctions, neither may them establish auction enterprises engaging in cultural relics auctions.

Article 54 Auction enterprises established pursuant to law that engage in cultural relics auctions shall obtain a permit for cultural relics auction issued by the cultural relics administrative departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Auction enterprises engaging in cultural relics auctions may not purchase or sell any of the cultural relics, neither may they establish cultural relics shops.

Article 55 Functionaries of the departments of cultural relics administrations may not initiate or participate in the initiation of cultural relics shops or auctions enterprises engaging in cultural relics auctions.

Cultural relics collection entities may not initiate or participate in the initiation of cultural relics shops or auctions enterprises engaging in cultural relics auctions.

It is prohibited to establish Chinese-foreign equity joint, Chinese-foreign contractual joint or solely foreign-funded cultural relics shops or auctions enterprises engaging in cultural relics auctions.

Except the approved cultural relics shops or auctions enterprises engaging in cultural relics auctions, no other entity or individual may engage in the business activities concerning cultural relics.

Article 56 Cultural relics shops shall not sell and auction enterprises shall not auction the cultural relics prescribed in Article 51 of this Law.

Cultural relics for auction by auction enterprises shall be examined before auction by the departments of cultural relics administration of the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and reported to the department of cultural relics administration under the State Council for record.

Article 57 The cultural relics administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall establish the cultural relics sale and auction information and credit management system. When a cultural relics shop purchases and sells cultural relics or an auction enterprise auctions cultural relics, it shall make records according to the relevant provisions of the state, and within 30 days after the sale or auction of cultural relics, report it to the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for recordation.

If the trustor or buyer requests his identification to be kept confidential in the auction of cultural relics, the department of cultural relics administration shall do so, unless it is otherwise provided for by laws and administrative regulations.