国函（1992）41号
（Approved by the State Council on April 30， 1992 and promulgated by Decree No. 2 of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics on May 5， 1992）
颁布日期：19920505 　实施日期：19920505 　颁布单位：国务院

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Rules for the Implementation are formulated in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of Cultural Relics （hereinafter referred to as Law on Protection of Cultural Relics）。

Article 2 The cultural relics such as sites related to revolutionary history， memorial buildings， sites of ancient culture， ancient tombs， ancient architectural structures， cave temples and stone carvings are classified into major sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the national level， sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the level of provinces， autonomous regions， municipalities directly under the Central Government and sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the level of counties， autonomous counties and cities.

Cultural relics such as memorial objects， works of art， handicraft articles， revolutionary documents， manuscripts， ancient or old books and materials， and typical material objects are classified into valuable cultural relics and ordinary cultural relics. Valuable cultural relics are classified into Grades One， Two， and Three.

Article 3 The State department for cultural administration in charge of the work concerning cultural relics throughout the country specified in Article 3 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics refers to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics. The State Bureau of Cultural Relics shall administer， supervise and guide the work concerning protection of cultural relics throughout the country according to law.

Local people's governments at various levels shall place under their protection cultural relics in their respective administrative areas.

The organs for protection and control of cultural relics set up by the local people's governments at the level of county and at various levels higher than it are the administrative departments of cultural relics； where there are no organs for protection and control of cultural relics， the departments for cultural administration are the administrative departments of cultural relics. The administrative departments of cultural relics at various levels administer the work concerning the cultural relics within their respective administrative areas.

Article 4 The public security organs， the administrative departments for industry and commerce， the departments in charge of urban and rural planning and the Customs at various levels shall， in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics， and within their respective competence， see to it that the work concerning protection of cultural relics be well done.

Article 5 The operating expenses for cultural relics undertakings and the capital construction for cultural relics shall be listed in the respective financial budgets of the financial departments of the people's governments at the level of county and at the various levels higher than it and administered in a unified manner by the administrative departments of cultural relics at the same level. The expenditure of capital construction for cultural relics， the expenses for repair and maintenance and the expenses for archaeological excavations shall be earmarked as special funds for such specified purposes only and be controlled strictly. All the incomes of the cultural relics institutions and enterprises which belong to the administrative departments of cultural relics at various levels shall be used for cultural relics undertakings only as supplementary funds for protection and control of cultural relics， and may not be used for any other purposes.

Chapter II Sites to Be Protected for Their Historical and Cultural Value

Article 6 Sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at different levels shall be approved and publicly announced in accordance with the procedures specified in Article 7 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics. Cultural relics which face under those listed in paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics but are not yet publicly announced as sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value shall be registered and protected by the people's governments of the relevant counties， autonomous counties or cities.

Article 7 The protective scope of sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at various levels shall， in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics， be delimited and signs and notices be put up within a year from the date of approval and announcement.

The protective scope of major sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the national level and sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the level of provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be delimited and announced by the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

The protective scope of sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the level of counties， autonomous counties and cities shall be delimited and announced by the people's governments at the same level.

Article 8 The local people's governments at the level of county or above shall prescribe the concrete protective measures for historical and cultural sites to be protected in accordance with the different needs for protection of cultural relics， and promulgate them for implementation.

The protective measures for major sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at national level and at the level of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be prescribed by the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

The protective measures for the historical cultural sites to be protected at the level of counties， autonomous counties and cities shall be prescribed by the people's governments of counties， autonomous counties and cities.

Article 9 Special administrative institutes for protection， such as preservation institutes of cultural relics or museums， may be set up for memorial buildings and ancient architectural structures owned by the State at the places designated as sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value by the administrative departments for cultural relics， the units which use them or their administrative departments at higher levels， and shall take charge of the protection. Where there are no special administrative institutes for protection， the relevant people's governments at the levels of county or above shall instruct the units which use sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value or the relevant departments to take charge of the protection or invite guardians for the protection of cultural relics to take charge thereof.

Article 10 The units which use cultural relics listed in paragraph 1 in Article 7 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics shall set up mass protective organizations for cultural relics； where there are no using units， villager's committees or resident's committees nearby may set up mass protective organizations for cultural relics to protect the cultural relics. The administrative departments for cultural relics shall give guidance to such mass protective organizations in their activities.

Article 11 The opening of a site to be protected for its historical and cultural value to the public shall be in conformity with the requirements prescribed by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics and reported to the administrative department for cultural relics at the level corresponding the relic level for approval.

Article 12 On the basis of the actual needs for the protection of cultural relics， an area for the control of construction may be delimited and announced around a site to be protected for its historical and cultural value.

The area for the control of construction around a major site to be protected at the national level or a site to be protected at the level of province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall be delimited by the administrative department for cultural relics of the people's government of the relevant province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government in conjunction with the departments for urban and rural planning and reported to the people's government of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval.

The area for the control of construction around a site to be protected at the level of county， autonomous county or city shall be delimited by the administrative department for cultural relics of the people's government of the relevant county， autonomous county or city in conjunction with the departments for urban and rural planning and reported to the people's government of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval or to the people's government of the county， autonomous county or city authorized by the people's government of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval.

Article 13 In an area for the control of construction， the installation of any device which endanger the safety of cultural relics or the construction of any building or structure of which the style， height， size and colour are out of harmony with the environmental features of historical and cultural site shall be impermissible.

The design for the construction of new buildings or structures in an area for the control of construction shall be， on the basis of the level of the site to be protected for its historical and cultural value， agreed to by the administrative department for cultural relics at the same level before it is submitted to the departments of urban and rural planning at that level for approval.

Article 14 Totally ruined cultural relics such as ruined memorial buildings and ancient architectural structures may not be reconstructed. Where the reconstruction of such sites is necessary at other places or at the original places owing to special needs， consent must be obtained from the original verifying and approving departments， according to the level of sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value.

Article 15 The repairing plans and the designing and working programs for the major sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the national level and those for the sites to be protected at the level of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government， which the State Bureau of Cultural Relics deems it necessary to be examined and approved by the Bureau itself shall be examined and approved by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

The repairing plans and the designing and working programs for the sites to be protected at the level of provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government and at the level of counties， autonomous counties and cities shall be examined and approved by the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

The repair and protection projects for cultural relics shall be subjected to the supervision and guidance of the examining and approving department. The completion of the projects shall be reported to the same department for check and acceptance.

Article 16 The units for exploration and designing and the units of construction in charge of the repair and protection projects for cultural relics shall observe the relevant regulations of the State and ensure the quality of the projects.

Article 17 The concrete measures on control of the repair and protection projects for cultural relics shall be formulated by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Chapter III Archaeological Excavations

Article 18 A procedure of submitting applications for approval must be fulfilled for all archaeological excavations. The archaeological excavation units shall submit their respective archaeological excavation applications to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics through the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government or directly to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics for examination and approval in accordance with the provisions in Article 17 or Article 19 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics. The State Bureau of Cultural Relics， in approving the archaeological excavation plans directly submitted to it， shall solicit opinions from the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of the relevant provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 19 The archaeological excavation units shall submit their archaeological excavation plans for each year to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics in the first quarter of the year. The archaeological excavation plans to be carried out in coordination with construction projects may be submitted to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics 30 days before the excavation.

In a case where the pressing time limit for the completion of a construction project or an imminent danger of natural damage requires urgent excavation， it is permissible to start with the approval of the administrative department for cultural relics of the people's government of the relevant province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government and then submit a retroactive excavation plan within 15 days as of the date of the excavation.

Article 20 In the course of archaeological excavation， the archaeological excavation units and their staff members shall strictly abide by the rules of archaeological work and ensure the quality of excavation.

When submitting their applications for excavation， the archaeological excavation units shall set forth protective measures to ensure the security of cultural relics unearthed and the historical remains， and shall strictly carry out them while engaging in the work of excavation.

Article 21 The work concerning the investigation and prospecting of cultural relics to be carried out in coordination with a construction project shall be organized and conducted by the administrative department for cultural relics of the people's government of the relevant province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. The work with respect to the investigation and prospecting of cultural relics involving two or more provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be jointly organized and conducted by the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of the provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government where the cultural relics are located or by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Article 22 Where sites of ancient culture and ancient tombs are found during the construction and require timely excavation， the administrative department of the relevant province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall organize the forces to conduct the excavation without delay. The work concerning archaeological excavation within the scope of an especially important construction project or a construction project involving two or more provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be organized and conducted by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics， and the construction shall not proceed until the completion of the excavation.

Article 23 In the course of an archaeological excavation engaged in coordination with a construction project， the building units and the construction units shall cooperate with the archaeological excavation units in protecting the security of the unearthed cultural relics or sites.

Article 24 The qualifications of an archaeological excavation unit or team head in charge of an archaeological excavation item shall be examined and acknowledged by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics and a certificate shall be issued.

The qualifications of an archaeological prospecting unit or team|head in charge of an archaeological prospecting shall be examined and acknowledged by the administrative department for cultural relics of the people's government of the relevant province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government and a certificate shall thereby be issued.

Article 25 Upon completion of an excavation， the archaeological excavation unit shall timely write out a report on the excavation and work out a list of the unearthed cultural relics.

The State Bureau of Cultural Relics or the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall， on the basis of condition of protection and control and the actual needs， designate museums， libraries or other institutions under ownership by the whole people （hereinafter referred to as collection units of cultural relics under ownership by the whole people） to store up the cultural relics unearthed. An approval from the State Bureau of Cultural Relics or the administrative department for cultural relics of the people's government of the relevant province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government is required， where an archaeological excavation unit has the need to keep cultural relics as specimens.

Chapter IV Cultural Relics in the Collection of Cultural Institutions

Article 26 Cultural relics collected by the collection units of cultural relics under ownership of the whole people shall be registered with the relevant administrative department of cultural relics. The administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of counties， autonomous counties and cities shall report the files of the registered valuable cultural relics to the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government for the record. The files of Grade One cultural relics registered by the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be reported to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics for the record. The specific measures shall be formulated by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Article 27 The collection units of cultural relics under ownership by the whole people shall be equipped with the facilities and means needed to ensure the security of cultural relics， and shall set up files for the cultural relics according to the relevant regulations of the State and take care of the cultural relics according to their categories and grades.

Article 28 Where the collection units of cultural relics under ownership by the whole people are to reproduce or restore any collected Grade One cultural relics， they shall report to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics for approval.

Article 29 The administrative departments for cultural relics at higher levels may allocate， transfer or borrow the cultural relics controlled by the administrative departments for cultural relics at lower levels. The collection units of cultural relics under ownership by the whole people may exchange or borrow their collected cultural relics among them， with the approval of the relevant administrative departments for cultural relics.

The allocation， transfer， exchange and borrowing of Grade One cultural relics shall be submitted to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics for approval.

The allocation， transfer， exchange and borrowing of Grades Two and Three cultural relics and ordinary cultural relics shall be submitted to the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government for approval.

Chapter V Cultural Relics in Private Collections

Article 30 Cultural relics in citizens' private collections may be registered with the administrative departments for cultural relics. The administrative department for cultural relics and their staff members shall keep the cultural relics registered by the citizen secret.

Article 31 Citizens may ask the administrative department for cultural relics for technological advice and help concerning the expertise， preservation and restoration of cultural relics in their private collections.

Article 32 Cultural relics in private collections may be sold to collection units of cultural relics or purchasing units of cultural relics under ownership by the whole people designated by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics or by the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

The State encourages citizens to contribute their cultural relics in private collections to collection units of cultural relics under ownership by the whole people.

Article 33 The business of purchase and sale of cultural relics to be conducted by cultural relics marketing units shall be approved by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics or the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and be registered with the administrative departments for industry and commerce. The business of cultural relics sales to foreigners shall be transacted with approval of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Article 34 The cultural relics marketing units shall record their business activities for eventual check and examination.

The valuable cultural relics purchased or preserved by cultural relics marketing units shall be reported to the administrative departments for cultural relics which have approved the cultural relics marketing business of such units for the record. Those belonging to Grade One cultural relics shall be reported to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics for the record.

The cultural relics to be sold by cultural relics marketing units shall be subjected to expertise in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State before the sale.

Article 35 Banks， smelteries， papermills and units for the recovery of old and waste materials， in sorting out cultural relics， shall receive the guidance of the administrative departments for cultural relics and shall well preserve the cultural relics sorted out and turn them over to the administrative departments for cultural relics as soon as possible.

Article 36 The prices of the cultural relics turned over to the administrative departments for cultural relics shall be reasonably assessed on the basis of the expenses paid by banks， smelteries， papermills or units for the recovery of old and waste materials on purchasing the said cultural relics plus a certain proportion of expenses for sorting them out. If the administrative departments for cultural relics which are to accept the turned over cultural relics have difficulty in paying the needed sum， the problem shall be solved by the administrative departments for cultural relics at higher levels.

Article 37 Cultural relics which are confiscated and recovered according to law by public security organs， administrative departments for industry and commerce and customs establishments in dealing with law breaking or criminal activities， shall be turned over to administrative departments for cultural relics as soon as possible after the settlement of the cases according to the relevant regulations. The measures for turning over shall be formulated by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics in conjunction with the departments concerned.

Article 38 Cultural relics turned over shall be subjected to expertise by the administrative departments for cultural relics. Grade One cultural relics shall be reported to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics for the record by the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 39 The State Bureau of Cultural Relics or the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall， in accordance with the needs of the protection for cultural relics， designate qualified collection units of cultural relics under ownership by the whole people to store up the turned over cultural relics.

Banks that intend to keep sorted out coins and other kinds of currency of past ages for scientific research shall ask for agreement from the State Bureau of Cultural Relics or the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Chapter VI Taking Cultural Relics out of China

Article 40 Cultural relics to be taken out of the country shall be subjected to expertise by the administrative departments for cultural relics of the people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government designated by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics. The expertizing standards for cultural relics leaving the country shall be formulated by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Article 41 For those cultural relics that are permitted to be taken out of the country after expertise， certificates for such permit shall be granted by the expertizing departments. The Customs shall verify and release the cultural relics against the permit certificates and according to the relevant regulations of the State.

Article 42 Cultural relics in private collections to be taken out of the country by individuals which， after expertise， are not permitted to be taken out， shall be registered and then returned or purchased by the administrative departments for cultural relics or even requisitioned through purchase if necessary.

Article 43 The exhibition of cultural relics abroad and the export of cultural relics shall be uniformly administered by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics. The concrete measures shall be formulated by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics in conjunction with the departments concerned.

Chapter VII Awards and Penalties

Article 44 The people's governments， the administrative departments for cultural relics or the departments concerned shall give awards to units or individuals for any of the deeds listed in Article 29 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics.

Article 45 Fines listed in Article 30 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics shall be enforced according to the seriousness of the cases in the following amounts：

（1） The amount of fine for any of the acts listed in Items （1）， （2） and （4） shall be no more than 200 yuan （RMB）；

（2） The amount of fine for the acts listed in Item （3） shall be one percent of the cost of the building and the structure， but not exceed 20，000 yuan （RMB） at most；

（3） The amount of fine for any of the acts listed in Items （5）， （6） and （7） shall be no more than 20，000 yuan （RMB）；

（4） The amount of fine for the acts listed in Item （8） shall be two to five times as much as the illegal earnings.

Article 46 The staff members of the administrative departments for cultural relics may send any person who has committed one of the acts listed in Items （3）， （4） and （5） of Article 30 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics to the administrative department concerned for handling.

Article 47 Where parties concerned are dissatisfied with the concrete administrative measures which are taken according to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics and these Rules for the Implementation， they may first apply For reconsideration according to the provisions specified in the Regulations on Administrative Reconsideration； where dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision， the parties may bring in a lawsuit according to the provisions specified in the Law for Administrative Litigation.

If the parties do not apply for reconsideration nor bring in a lawsuit nor comply with the concrete administrative measures within the prescribed time-limit， the administrative departments which have taken the concrete administrative measures may apply to a people's court for enforcement or resort to enforcement according to law.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 48 Protective measures for fossils of paleo vertebrates and paleo anthropoids and the administrative and protective measures for famous cities of historical and cultural value shall be formulated separately.

Article 49 The State Bureau of Cultural Relics shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Rules.

Article 50 These Rules for the implementation shall be effective as of the date of promulgation.