The 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) voted on November 8 to pass the newly revised Cultural Relics Protection Law, which will come into effect on March 1, 2025.

This revision of the Cultural Relics Protection Law elevates the historical achievements and valuable experience gained in China's cultural relics work to the level of law, further improving the legal framework for cultural relics, promoting the rule of law, standardization, and institutionalization of cultural relics work, and providing better legal safeguards for the modernization of the governance system and capacity in the field of cultural relics.

The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics

(Adopted at the 25th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress on November 19, 1982; First Amendment based on the Decision on Amending Articles 30 and 31 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics adopted at the 20th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on June 29, 1991; First Revision adopted at the 30th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on October 28, 2002; Second Amendment based on the Decision on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics adopted at the 31st Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on December 29, 2007; Third Amendment based on the Decision on Amending Twelve Laws including the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics adopted at the Third Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on June 29, 2013; Fourth Amendment based on the Decision on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics adopted at the 14th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on April 24, 2015; Fifth Amendment based on the Decision on Amending Eleven Laws including the Law of the People's Republic of China on Accounting adopted at the 30th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 4, 2017; Second Revision adopted at the 12th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress on November 8, 2024)

Contents

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Chapter 2 Immovable Cultural Relics

Chapter 3 Archaeological Excavation

Chapter 4 Museum Collections

Chapter 5 Privately Collected Cultural Relics

Chapter 6 Import and Export of Cultural Relics

Chapter 7 Legal Liabilities

Chapter 8 Supplementary Provisions

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 For the purpose of strengthening the protection of cultural relics, inheriting the excellent historical and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, promoting scientific research, conducting education in patriotism and revolutionary traditions, enhancing historical consciousness, strengthening cultural confidence, and building socialist spiritual and material civilization, this Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution.

Article 2 Cultural relics are protected by the state. As used in this Law, "cultural relics" refers to the following material remains created by humankind or related to human activities that possess historical, artistic, or scientific value:

(1) Ancient cultural sites, ancient tombs, ancient buildings, grotto temples, ancient stone carvings, ancient murals;

(2) Important historical sites, objects, and representative buildings of the modern and contemporary periods related to major historical events, revolutionary movements, or famous figures, and possessing important commemorative significance, educational significance, or historical value;

(3) Precious works of art and handicrafts from various historical periods;

(4) Important historical documents, manuscripts, and book materials from various historical periods;

(5) Representative objects reflecting the social systems, social production, and social life of various periods and ethnic groups in history.

The subject, standards, and procedures for the identification of cultural relics shall be stipulated and announced by the State Council.

Fossil remains of ancient vertebrates and ancient humans with scientific value are protected by the state in the same way as cultural relics.

Article 3 Cultural relics are divided into immovable cultural relics and movable cultural relics.

Immovable cultural relics such as ancient cultural sites, ancient tombs, ancient buildings, grotto temples, ancient stone carvings, ancient murals, important historical sites and representative buildings of the modern and contemporary periods are divided into cultural relics protection units and immovable cultural relics that have not been identified and announced as cultural relics protection units (hereinafter referred to as "unclassified immovable cultural relics"); cultural relics protection units are divided into national key cultural relics protection units, provincial cultural relics protection units, and cultural relics protection units at the prefecture-level city and county levels.

Movable cultural relics such as important objects, works of art, handicrafts, documents, manuscripts, book materials, and representative objects from various historical periods are divided into precious cultural relics and general cultural relics; precious cultural relics are divided into first-class, second-class, and third-class cultural relics.

Article 4 Cultural relics work adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, upholds the guidance of socialist core values, and implements the principle of prioritizing protection, giving priority to rescue, making reasonable use, and strengthening management.

Article 5 All cultural relics existing underground, in inland waters, and in the territorial sea within the territory of the People's Republic of China, as well as cultural relics originating in China or of unknown origin existing in other sea areas under China's jurisdiction, belong to the state.

Ancient cultural sites, ancient tombs, and grotto temples belong to the state. Unless otherwise stipulated by the state, designated protected commemorative buildings, ancient buildings, ancient stone carvings, ancient murals, and representative buildings of the modern and contemporary periods belong to the state.

The ownership of state-owned immovable cultural relics shall not change due to changes in the ownership or right to use of the land to which they are attached.

Article 6 The following movable cultural relics belong to the state:

(1) Cultural relics unearthed or salvaged from underground, inland waters, and the territorial sea within the territory of China, and other sea areas under China's jurisdiction, except as otherwise provided by the state;

(2) Cultural relics collected and preserved by state-owned cultural relics collection units and other state organs, troops, and state-owned enterprises and institutions;

(3) Cultural relics collected, purchased, or confiscated by the state according to law;

(4) Cultural relics donated to the state by citizens and organizations;

(5) Other cultural relics stipulated by law to belong to the state.

The ownership of state-owned movable cultural relics shall not change due to the termination or change of the collection or preservation unit.

Article 7 The ownership of state-owned cultural relics is protected by law and shall not be infringed upon.

The ownership of commemorative buildings, ancient buildings, ancestral cultural relics, and other cultural relics legally obtained that are collectively owned or privately owned is protected by law. Owners of cultural relics must abide by the provisions of state laws and regulations concerning the protection of cultural relics.

Article 8 All organs, organizations, and individuals have the obligation to protect cultural relics according to law.

Article 9 The State Council's cultural relics administrative department is in charge of national cultural relics protection work.

Local people's governments at all levels are responsible for the protection of cultural relics within their respective administrative regions. The cultural relics administrative departments of local people's governments at or above the county level supervise and administer the protection of cultural relics within their respective administrative regions.

Relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level are responsible for relevant cultural relics protection work within their respective duties.

Article 10: The state develops the cause of cultural relics protection, implementing the work requirements of giving priority to protection, strengthening management, excavating value, effective utilization, and bringing cultural relics to life.

Article 11: Cultural relics are irreplaceable cultural resources. All levels of people's governments should attach importance to cultural relics protection, correctly handling the relationship between economic construction, social development, and cultural relics protection, and ensuring the safety of cultural relics.

Basic construction and tourism development must prioritize cultural relics protection, strictly implementing the regulations on cultural relics protection and safety management, and preventing destructive construction and excessive commercialization.

Article 12: All levels of people's governments should take measures to strengthen the protection of cultural relics related to major events, important meetings, important figures, and the great spirit of the founding of the Party during various historical periods of the Communist Party of China.

Article 13: People's governments at or above the county level should include the cause of cultural relics protection in their national economic and social development plans, and the required funds should be included in their budgets to ensure that the development of the cultural relics protection cause is commensurate with the level of national economic and social development.

The operating income of state-owned museums, memorial halls, and cultural relics protection units is included in budget management and used for cultural relics protection. No unit or individual may encroach upon or misappropriate it.

The state encourages the establishment of social funds for cultural relics protection through donations and other means, specifically for cultural relics protection. No unit or individual may encroach upon or misappropriate it.

Article 14: People's governments at or above the county level and their cultural relics administrative departments should strengthen the general survey and special investigation of cultural relics to fully grasp the resources and protection status of cultural relics.

Cultural relics administrative departments of people's governments at or above the county level strengthen the dynamic management of state-owned cultural relics resources and assets, and submit reports on the management of state-owned cultural relics resources and assets in a timely manner in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Article 15: The state supports and regulates the excavation and interpretation of the value of cultural relics, promotes research on the origins and development of Chinese civilization, inherits and promotes excellent traditional Chinese culture, promotes revolutionary culture, develops advanced socialist culture, strengthens the consciousness of the Chinese nation community, and enhances the influence of Chinese culture.

Article 16: The state strengthens the publicity and education of cultural relics protection, innovates communication methods, enhances public awareness of cultural relics protection, and creates a social atmosphere of consciously inheriting the excellent historical and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

News media should conduct publicity and reporting on laws and regulations on cultural relics protection and knowledge of cultural relics protection, and conduct public opinion supervision on acts that endanger the safety of cultural relics and damage cultural relics in accordance with the law.

Museums, memorial halls, cultural relics storage institutions, archaeological site parks, and other relevant units should conduct targeted publicity and education activities on cultural relics protection in conjunction with the content of visits and tours.

Article 17: The state encourages the conduct of scientific research on cultural relics protection, promotes advanced and applicable cultural relics protection technologies, and improves the scientific and technological level of cultural relics protection.

The state strengthens the informatization construction of cultural relics protection, encourages the carrying out of digital work for cultural relics protection, and promotes the digital collection and display and utilization of cultural relics resources.

The state increases the efforts to cultivate professional personnel in cultural relics protection such as archaeology, repair, and restoration, and improves the mechanism for cultivating, using, evaluating, and motivating personnel.

Article 18: The state encourages the conduct of research on the utilization of cultural relics, and on the premise of ensuring the safety of cultural relics, adheres to the priority of social benefits, effectively utilizes cultural relics resources, and provides diversified and multi-level cultural products and services.

Article 19: The state improves the social participation mechanism, mobilizes the enthusiasm of social forces to participate in cultural heritage protection, and encourages and guides social forces to invest in cultural heritage protection.

Article 20: The state supports the conduct of international exchanges and cooperation on archaeology, repair, restoration, exhibitions, scientific research, law enforcement, and judicial matters related to cultural relics protection, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among human civilizations.

Article 21: Cultural relics administrative departments or relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county level should publicly disclose information such as complaint and reporting methods, and promptly accept and handle complaints and reports involving cultural relics protection.

Article 22: Units or individuals with one of the following deeds shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with relevant state regulations:

(1) Those who earnestly implement laws and regulations on cultural relics protection and have achieved remarkable results in protecting cultural relics;

(2) Those who have resolutely fought against illegal and criminal acts to protect cultural relics;

(3) Those who have donated important cultural relics in their collection to the state or donated to the cause of cultural relics protection;

(4) Those who have discovered cultural relics and promptly reported or handed them over, thus protecting the cultural relics;

(5) Those who have made significant contributions in archaeological excavation, excavation and interpretation of the value of cultural relics, etc.;

(6) Those who have made important inventions or other important contributions in the science and technology of cultural relics protection;

(7) Those who have made meritorious service in rescuing cultural relics when they are in danger of being destroyed;

(8) Those who have been engaged in cultural relics work for a long time and have achieved remarkable results;

(9) Those who have organized and participated in volunteer services for cultural relics protection and have achieved remarkable results;

(10) Those who have made significant contributions in international exchanges and cooperation on cultural relics protection.

Chapter 2 Immovable Cultural Relics

Article 23: Immovable cultural relics discovered in cultural relics surveys, special investigations, or other related work shall be promptly verified and announced as cultural relics protection units or registered and announced as unclassified immovable cultural relics. Citizens and organizations may propose suggestions for verifying and announcing cultural relics protection units or registering and announcing unclassified immovable cultural relics.

The State Council's cultural relics administrative department selects those with significant historical, artistic, and scientific value among provincial, prefecture-level city, and county-level cultural relics protection units to be designated as national key cultural relics protection units, or directly designates them as national key cultural relics protection units, and reports them to the State Council for verification and announcement.

Provincial cultural relics protection units are verified and announced by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and reported to the State Council for the record.

Prefecture-level city and county-level cultural relics protection units are respectively verified and announced by the people's governments of prefecture-level cities and autonomous prefectures and county-level people's governments, and reported to the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government for the record.

Unclassified immovable cultural relics are registered by the cultural relics administrative departments of county-level people's governments, reported to the people's government at the same level and the cultural relics administrative departments of the higher-level people's governments for the record, and announced to the public.

Article 24: In the reconstruction of old urban areas and the development of land plots, county-level and above people's governments shall organize the investigation of immovable cultural relics within the relevant areas in advance, promptly conduct verification, registration, and announcement work, and take protective measures in accordance with the law. No unit may commence construction without investigation to prevent destructive construction.

Article 25: Cities that preserve particularly rich cultural relics and have significant historical value or revolutionary commemorative significance shall be designated and announced by the State Council as historical and cultural cities.

Towns, streets, and villages that preserve particularly rich cultural relics and have significant historical value or revolutionary commemorative significance shall be designated and announced by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government as historical and cultural blocks, towns, and villages, and shall be filed with the State Council.

The county-level and above local people's governments where historical and cultural cities and historical and cultural blocks, towns, and villages are located shall organize the preparation of special protection plans for historical and cultural cities and historical and cultural blocks, towns, and villages, and incorporate them into relevant plans.

The protection methods for historical and cultural cities and historical and cultural blocks, towns, and villages shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 26: The protection scope of cultural relics protection units at all levels shall be delimited and announced by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and prefecture-level and county-level people's governments respectively. Markers shall be made, records shall be established, and specialized institutions or individuals shall be assigned to manage them according to the circumstances. The protection scope and records of nationally key cultural relics protection units shall be filed with the State Council's cultural relics administrative department by the cultural relics administrative departments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Unclassified immovable cultural relics shall have markers made, records established, and responsible managers designated by the county-level people's government's cultural relics administrative department.

County-level and above local people's government cultural relics administrative departments shall formulate specific protection measures for cultural relics protection units and unclassified immovable cultural relics based on the protection needs of different cultural relics, report to the people's government at the same level, and announce their implementation.

Cultural relics administrative departments shall guide and encourage grassroots mass autonomous organizations and volunteers to participate in the protection of immovable cultural relics.

Article 27: When formulating relevant plans, people's governments at all levels shall, based on the needs of cultural relics protection, have relevant departments coordinate with the cultural relics administrative departments in advance to determine the protection measures for immovable cultural relics within their administrative regions, and incorporate them into the plans.

County-level and above local people's government cultural relics administrative departments shall, based on the needs of cultural relics protection, organize the preparation of protection plans for immovable cultural relics within their administrative regions. After approval by the people's government at the same level, they shall be announced and implemented, and filed with the cultural relics administrative department at the next higher level. Protection plans for nationally key cultural relics protection units shall be approved by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, announced and implemented, and filed with the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Article 28: Within the protection scope of cultural relics protection units, no construction projects other than cultural relics protection projects or blasting, drilling, excavation, etc., may be carried out. If necessary due to special circumstances, the safety of the cultural relics protection unit must be ensured.

If, due to special circumstances, it is necessary to carry out the construction projects or operations stipulated in the preceding paragraph within the protection scope of provincial, prefecture-level, or county-level cultural relics protection units, approval must be obtained from the people's government that has verified and announced the cultural relics protection unit. Before approval, the consent of the cultural relics administrative department at the next higher level must be obtained. For construction projects or operations stipulated in the preceding paragraph within the protection scope of nationally key cultural relics protection units, approval must be obtained from the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. Before approval, the consent of the State Council's cultural relics administrative department must be obtained.

Article 29: Based on the actual needs of cultural relics protection and with the approval of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, a certain construction control zone may be demarcated around cultural relics protection units and announced.

Construction projects within the construction control zone of cultural relics protection units shall not damage the historical appearance of the cultural relics protection units. The engineering design plan shall be approved by the state-specified cultural relics administrative department according to the level of the cultural relics protection unit and the degree of influence of the construction project on the historical appearance of the cultural relics protection unit, and then obtain the construction project planning permit in accordance with the law.

Article 30: Within the protection scope and construction control zone of cultural relics protection units, no facilities that pollute the cultural relics protection units and their environment may be constructed, and no activities that may affect the safety and environment of the cultural relics protection units may be carried out. Existing facilities that pollute cultural relics protection units and their environment shall be handled in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations on the ecological environment.

Article 31: The selection of construction project sites should, as far as possible, avoid immovable cultural relics. If it is unavoidable due to special circumstances, on-site protection should be implemented as far as possible.

For on-site protection, the construction unit shall determine the on-site protection measures in advance and report them to the corresponding cultural relics administrative department for approval according to the level of the cultural relics protection unit. On-site protection measures for unclassified immovable cultural relics shall be submitted to the county-level people's government cultural relics administrative department for approval. Construction may not commence without approval.

If on-site protection cannot be implemented, and provincial, prefecture-level, or county-level cultural relics protection units need to be relocated for protection or demolished, the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be reported. Before approval for the relocation or demolition of provincial cultural relics protection units, the consent of the State Council's cultural relics administrative department must be obtained. Nationally key cultural relics protection units may not be demolished. If relocation is necessary, it must be approved by the State Council upon report by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. If unclassified immovable cultural relics need to be relocated for protection or demolished, the cultural relics administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be reported.

The demolition of state-owned immovable cultural relics in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be supervised by the cultural relics administrative department. Murals, sculptures, architectural components, etc., with collection value shall be collected by cultural relics collection units designated by the cultural relics administrative department.

The costs required for on-site protection, relocation, and demolition as stipulated in this article shall be included in the construction budget by the construction unit.

Article 32: State-owned immovable cultural relics shall be repaired and maintained by the users. Non-state-owned immovable cultural relics shall be repaired and maintained by the owners or users. County-level and above people's governments may provide subsidies.

If immovable cultural relics are in danger of damage and the owners or users do not have the capacity for repair, county-level and above people's governments shall provide assistance. If the owners or users have the capacity for repair but refuse to fulfill their repair obligations in accordance with the law, county-level and above people's governments may provide emergency repairs, and the costs shall be borne by the owners or users.

For the repair of cultural relics protection units, the corresponding cultural relics administrative department shall be reported for approval according to the level of the cultural relics protection unit. For the repair of unclassified immovable cultural relics, the county-level people's government cultural relics administrative department shall be reported for approval.

The repair, relocation, and reconstruction of cultural relics protection units shall be undertaken by units with cultural relics protection project qualification certificates.

The repair, maintenance, and relocation of immovable cultural relics must adhere to the principles of not altering the original state of the cultural relics and minimum intervention, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of the cultural relics.

County-level and above people's government cultural relics administrative departments shall strengthen supervision and inspection of the protection of immovable cultural relics, promptly discover problems and hidden dangers, prevent safety risks, and supervise and guide the owners or users of immovable cultural relics to fulfill their protection responsibilities.

Article 33. If immovable cultural relics have been completely destroyed, the site should be strictly protected, and reconstruction should not be carried out on the original site. If reconstruction on the original site is necessary due to special circumstances such as cultural relic protection, it shall be approved by the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government after being reported by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government; for nationally key cultural relic protection units that need to be reconstructed on the original site, it shall be approved by the State Council after the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government obtains the consent of the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Article 34. For memorial buildings or ancient buildings among state-owned cultural relic protection units, except for establishing museums, cultural relic storage facilities, or designating them as sightseeing venues, if they are to be used for other purposes, the cultural relics administrative department of the municipal or county-level people's government that has determined and announced the cultural relic protection unit shall obtain the consent of the higher-level people's government's cultural relics administrative department before reporting to the people's government that determined and announced the cultural relic protection unit for approval; for provincial-level cultural relic protection units, it shall be approved by the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government after being reviewed and approved by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government that determined and announced the cultural relic protection unit; for nationally key cultural relic protection units, it shall be approved by the State Council after being reported by the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government. For state-owned, unclassified immovable cultural relics that are to be used for other purposes, it shall be reported to the county-level people's government's cultural relics administrative department.

Article 35. State-owned immovable cultural relics shall not be transferred or mortgaged; if there are other provisions by the state, they shall be followed. State-owned immovable cultural relics that are established as museums, cultural relic storage facilities, or designated as sightseeing venues shall not be converted into enterprise assets for operation; their management institutions shall not be changed to be managed by enterprises.

Tourism and other development and construction activities relying on historical and cultural streets and towns should strictly implement relevant protection plans and measures, control large-scale relocation, prevent over-development, and strengthen overall protection and living inheritance.

Article 36. Non-state-owned immovable cultural relics shall not be transferred or mortgaged to foreigners, foreign organizations, or international organizations.

For the transfer, mortgage, or change of use of non-state-owned immovable cultural relics, it should be filed with the relevant cultural relics administrative department.

Article 37. County-level and above people's governments and their relevant departments should take measures to promote the effective utilization of immovable cultural relics in a way that suits local conditions, on the premise of ensuring the safety of cultural relics.

Cultural relic protection units should be open to the public as much as possible. When cultural relic protection units are open to the public, they should reasonably determine the opening hours and visitor capacity, and announce them to the public, actively providing necessary conveniences for visitors.

Museums, memorial halls, cultural relic storage facilities, archaeological site parks, and other units established for the protection of immovable cultural relics should strengthen the excavation and interpretation of the value of immovable cultural relics, and conduct targeted publicity and explanations.

Article 38. The use of immovable cultural relics must abide by the principle of not changing the original state of the cultural relics and minimum intervention, be responsible for protecting the safety of the cultural relic itself and its affiliated cultural relics, and shall not damage, modify, add to, or demolish immovable cultural relics.

For buildings and structures that endanger the safety of immovable cultural relics or damage the historical appearance of immovable cultural relics, the local people's government should conduct timely investigations and processing; if necessary, the buildings and structures shall be demolished or relocated according to law.

Article 39. The owner or user of immovable cultural relics should strengthen the fire safety management of fire, electricity, and gas usage, adopt targeted fire safety measures according to the characteristics of immovable cultural relics, improve fire prevention and emergency response capabilities, and ensure the safety of cultural relics.

Article 40. Provincial, autonomous regional, and municipal people's governments may designate areas where underground buried or underwater relics are relatively concentrated and require overall protection as underground cultural relic burial areas or underwater cultural relic protection areas, formulate specific protection measures, and announce their implementation.

For underground cultural relic burial areas or underwater cultural relic protection areas that involve more than two provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities, or other sea areas under Chinese jurisdiction outside of China's territorial waters, the State Council's cultural relics administrative department shall designate them and formulate specific protection measures, which shall be determined and announced by the State Council.

Chapter 3 Archaeological Excavation

Article 41. All archaeological excavation work must go through approval procedures; units engaged in archaeological excavation should obtain archaeological excavation qualification certificates issued by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

No unit or individual shall excavate underground buried or underwater relics without authorization.

Article 42. Units engaged in archaeological excavation, for the purpose of scientific research, should submit an excavation plan for approval to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department; for archaeological excavation plans for nationally key cultural relic protection units, they should be submitted to the State Council for approval after being reviewed by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department. Before approval or review, the State Council's cultural relics administrative department should solicit opinions from social science research institutions, other research institutions, and relevant experts.

Article 43. In areas where underground cultural relics may exist, before land is transferred or allocated by county-level and above local people's governments, the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government should organize units engaged in archaeological excavation to conduct archaeological surveys and explorations. Areas where underground cultural relics may exist shall be designated and dynamically adjusted in a timely manner by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government.

For large-scale basic construction projects, or construction projects within the protection scope or construction control zone of cultural relic protection units, if archaeological surveys and explorations have not been conducted in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the construction unit should, in advance, request the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government to organize units engaged in archaeological excavation to conduct archaeological surveys and explorations in areas within the project where cultural relics may be buried.

If cultural relics are discovered during archaeological surveys and explorations, the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government shall, in accordance with the requirements of cultural relic protection, jointly determine protection measures with the construction unit; in case of important discoveries, the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government shall promptly report to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department for handling. If this leads to work stoppage or extension of the construction period, causing losses to the construction unit, the cultural relics administrative department of the county-level and above local people's government shall, together with relevant departments, listen to the opinions of the construction unit before proposing a handling opinion, which shall be submitted to the people's government at the same level for approval.

Article 44. If it is necessary to cooperate with archaeological excavation work, the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government should, based on the exploration work, submit an excavation plan for approval to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department. Before approval, the State Council's cultural relics administrative department should solicit opinions from social science research institutions, other research institutions, and relevant experts.

If, due to urgent construction deadlines or the risk of natural damage, it is urgently needed to conduct rescue excavation of ancient cultural sites or ancient tombs, the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government shall organize the excavation and simultaneously complete the approval procedures.

Article 45. The costs for archaeological surveys, explorations, and excavations required for basic construction and production construction shall be included in the construction project budget by the construction unit.

County-level and above people's governments may provide support for archaeological surveys, explorations, and excavation work through appropriate means.

Article 46. In construction projects, agricultural production, and other activities, any unit or individual who discovers cultural relics or suspected cultural relics shall protect the site and immediately report to the local cultural relics administrative department; the cultural relics administrative department shall arrive at the site within 24 hours of receiving the report and submit a processing opinion within seven days. The cultural relics administrative department shall take measures to protect the site and, if necessary, may notify the public security organs or maritime law enforcement agencies for assistance; if important cultural relics are discovered, they shall be immediately reported to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department, which shall submit a processing opinion within 15 days of receiving the report.

Cultural relics discovered in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph belong to the state, and no unit or individual may scramble for, privately divide, or conceal them.

Article 47. Without special permission from the State Council's cultural relics administrative department reported to the State Council, no foreigner, foreign organization, or international organization may conduct archaeological surveys, exploration, or excavation within the territory of China.

Article 48. The results of archaeological surveys, exploration, and excavation shall be truthfully reported to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department and the cultural relics administrative departments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Cultural relics excavated in archaeological excavations shall be registered and properly preserved, and shall be transferred in a timely manner to state-owned museums, libraries, or other state-owned units that collect cultural relics designated by the cultural relics administrative departments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government or the State Council's cultural relics administrative department, in accordance with relevant national regulations. With the approval of the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal government, the unit conducting the archaeological excavation may retain a small number of unearthed or underwater cultural relics as research specimens.

No unit or individual may encroach upon cultural relics or archaeological excavation data from archaeological excavations.

Article 49. Based on the need to ensure the safety of cultural relics, conduct scientific research, and give full play to the role of cultural relics, the cultural relics administrative departments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, with the approval of the people's governments at the same level, use unearthed or underwater cultural relics within their administrative regions; the State Council's cultural relics administrative department may, with the approval of the State Council, use important unearthed or underwater cultural relics nationwide.

Chapter 4 Museum Collections

Article 50. The state encourages and supports cultural relic collection units to collect and protect movable cultural relics, and to carry out activities such as cultural relic exhibitions, publicity and education, and scientific research.

Relevant departments shall treat state-owned cultural relic collection units and non-state-owned cultural relic collection units fairly in terms of establishment conditions, social service requirements, and financial and tax support policies.

Article 51. Museums, libraries, and other cultural relic collection units must classify the cultural relics they collect (hereinafter referred to as "museum collections") according to national standards for cultural relic classification, establish archives, establish strict management systems, and file them with the competent cultural relics administrative department.

Cultural relics administrative departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall establish archives of museum collections within their administrative regions; the State Council's cultural relics administrative department shall establish national archives of first-class museum collections and archives of museum collections of state-owned cultural relic collection units under its jurisdiction.

Article 52. Cultural relic collection units may obtain cultural relics through the following methods:

(1) Purchase;

(2) Acceptance of donations;

(3) Legal exchange;

(4) Other methods stipulated by laws and administrative regulations.

State-owned cultural relic collection units may also obtain cultural relics through the method of designated collection or allocation by the cultural relics administrative department.

Cultural relic collection units shall fulfill their due diligence obligations in accordance with the law and understand and identify the legality of the source of cultural relics they intend to collect or purchase.

Article 53. Cultural relic collection units shall establish and improve management systems in accordance with relevant national regulations based on the protection needs of their museum collections, and file them with the competent cultural relics administrative department. No unit or individual may remove museum collections without approval.

The legal representative or main person in charge of a cultural relic collection unit is responsible for the safety of the museum collections. When the legal representative or main person in charge of a cultural relic collection unit leaves office, they shall handle the transfer of museum collections in accordance with the museum collection archives.

Article 54. The State Council's cultural relics administrative department may allocate state-owned museum collections nationwide. The cultural relics administrative departments of the provincial, autonomous regional, and municipal governments may allocate museum collections of state-owned cultural relic collection units under their jurisdiction within their administrative regions; the allocation of first-class state-owned museum collections shall be filed with the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

State-owned cultural relic collection units may apply for the allocation of state-owned museum collections.

Article 55. Cultural relic collection units shall improve service conditions, enhance service levels, give full play to the role of museum collections, strengthen the publicity and education of the excellent historical culture and revolutionary traditions of the Chinese nation through exhibitions, scientific research, cultural creativity, and other activities; and improve the utilization efficiency of museum collections through borrowing, exchange, online exhibitions, and other methods.

Cultural relic collection units shall provide support and assistance to schools and research institutions in carrying out education and teaching, scientific research, and other activities.

Museums shall be open to the public in accordance with relevant national regulations, reasonably determine opening hours and the number of visitors, and publicly announce them, providing scientific, accurate, and vivid textual explanations and interpretation services in various forms.

Article 56. State-owned cultural relic collection units that need to borrow museum collections for exhibitions, scientific research, and other purposes shall file them with the competent cultural relics administrative department; borrowing first-class museum collections shall also be filed with the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Non-state-owned cultural relic collection units and other units that need to borrow state-owned museum collections for exhibitions shall obtain approval from the competent cultural relics administrative department; borrowing first-class state-owned museum collections shall be approved by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

When cultural relic collection units borrow cultural relics from each other, they shall sign a borrowing agreement, and the term of the agreement shall not exceed three years.

Article 57. State-owned cultural relic collection units that have established museum collection archives and management systems in accordance with the provisions of this Law may exchange museum collections; the exchange of museum collections shall be approved by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal government and filed with the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Article 58. State-owned cultural relic collection units that have not established museum collection archives and management systems in accordance with the provisions of this Law may not borrow or exchange their museum collections in accordance with the provisions of Articles 55 to 57 of this Law.

Article 59. Cultural relic collection units that obtain cultural relics through legal allocation, exchange, or borrowing may provide reasonable compensation to the cultural relic collection units that provide the cultural relics.

Compensation fees obtained by cultural relic collection units from the allocation, exchange, or lending of cultural relics must be used to improve the conditions for collecting cultural relics and collecting new cultural relics, and may not be used for other purposes; no unit or individual may encroach upon them.

Allocated, exchanged, or borrowed cultural relics must be strictly preserved and must not be lost or damaged.

Article 60: State-owned cultural relic collection units are prohibited from donating, leasing, selling, mortgaging, or pledging their collection to other units or individuals.

Article 61: The methods for removing cultural relics no longer collected by state-owned cultural relic collection units from their collections shall be formulated and promulgated by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Article 62: The restoration of collected cultural relics shall not alter their original state; the copying, photographing, or rubbings of collected cultural relics shall not cause damage to them. The restoration, copying, or rubbings of collected Level 2 and Level 3 cultural relics shall be approved by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government; the restoration, copying, or rubbings of collected Level 1 cultural relics shall be approved by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

The restoration, copying, photographing, and rubbings of individual immovable cultural relics shall be subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 63: Museums, libraries, and other units that collect cultural relics shall, in accordance with relevant national regulations, be equipped with facilities for fire prevention, theft prevention, and prevention of natural damage, and shall take corresponding measures to ensure the safety of their collections.

Article 64: If a Level 1 cultural relic in the collection is damaged, it shall be reported to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department for investigation and handling. If other collected cultural relics are damaged, it shall be reported to the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government for investigation and handling; the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government shall file the results of the investigation and handling with the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

If a collected cultural relic is stolen, robbed, or lost, the cultural relic collection unit shall immediately report the case to the public security organ and simultaneously report to the competent cultural relics administrative department.

Article 65: Staff members of cultural relics administrative departments and state-owned cultural relic collection units shall not borrow state-owned cultural relics, nor shall they illegally occupy them.

Chapter 5 Privately Collected Cultural Relics

Article 66: The state encourages citizens and organizations to legally collect cultural relics and strengthens guidance, management, and services for private collection activities.

Article 67: Citizens and organizations other than cultural relic collection units may collect cultural relics obtained through the following methods:

(1) Legal inheritance or acceptance of gifts;

(2) Purchase from cultural relic sales units;

(3) Purchase through auction enterprises that operate cultural relic auctions (hereinafter referred to as "cultural relic auction enterprises");

(4) Mutual exchange or legal transfer of cultural relics legally owned by individual citizens;

(5) Other legal methods stipulated by the state.

Citizens and organizations other than cultural relic collection units may legally circulate the cultural relics mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Article 68: The following cultural relics are prohibited from being bought and sold:

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

(2) Murals, sculptures, and architectural components among state-owned immovable cultural relics, except for murals, sculptures, and architectural components among legally demolished state-owned immovable cultural relics that do not fall under the category of those that should be collected by cultural relic collection units as stipulated in Article 31, paragraph 4 of this Law;

(3) Precious cultural relics in non-state-owned collections;

(4) Stolen cultural relics reported or announced by relevant departments of the State Council, and other cultural relics whose origins do not comply with the provisions of Article 67 of this Law;

(5) Cultural relics reported or announced by foreign governments or relevant international organizations in accordance with relevant international conventions.

Article 69: The state encourages citizens and organizations other than cultural relic collection units to donate or lend their collected cultural relics to cultural relic collection units for exhibition and research.

Cultural relic collection units shall respect and, in accordance with the wishes of the donors, properly collect, store, and display the donated cultural relics.

Cultural relics prohibited from leaving the country shall not be transferred, leased, mortgaged, or pledged to foreign organizations or individuals.

Article 70: Cultural relic sales units shall obtain a cultural relic sales license issued by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government.

Cultural relic sales units shall not engage in cultural relic auction operations or establish cultural relic auction enterprises.

Article 71: Auction enterprises legally established to operate cultural relic auctions shall obtain a cultural relic auction license issued by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government.

Cultural relic auction enterprises shall not engage in cultural relic sales operations or establish cultural relic sales units.

Article 72: Staff members of cultural relics administrative departments shall not organize or participate in the organization of cultural relic sales units or cultural relic auction enterprises.

Cultural relic collection units and their staff shall not organize or participate in the organization of cultural relic sales units or cultural relic auction enterprises.

The establishment of foreign-invested cultural relic sales units or cultural relic auction enterprises is prohibited.

Except for cultural relic sales units and cultural relic auction enterprises, no other units or individuals may engage in commercial operations of cultural relics.

Article 73: Cultural relic sales units shall not sell, and cultural relic auction enterprises shall not auction, the cultural relics stipulated in Article 68 of this Law.

Cultural relics auctioned by cultural relic auction enterprises shall be reviewed by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph before the auction, and shall be filed with the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Cultural relic sales units selling cultural relics and cultural relic auction enterprises auctioning cultural relics shall truthfully describe the relevant information of the cultural relics and shall not engage in false advertising.

Article 74: The cultural relics administrative departments of provincial, autonomous regional, and municipal people's governments shall establish a cultural relic purchase, sales, and auction information and credit management system to promote the construction of integrity in the cultural relic circulation field. Cultural relic sales units purchasing and selling cultural relics and cultural relic auction enterprises auctioning cultural relics shall make records in accordance with relevant national regulations and shall file them with the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government within 30 days after the sale or auction.

When auctioning cultural relics, if the consignor or purchaser requests confidentiality of their identity, the cultural relics administrative department shall keep it confidential; except as otherwise provided by laws and administrative regulations.

Article 75: When reviewing cultural relics to be auctioned, the cultural relics administrative department may designate state-owned cultural relic collection units to purchase precious cultural relics among them preferentially. The purchase price shall be determined through consultation between the representative of the state-owned cultural relic collection unit and the consignor of the cultural relics.

Article 76 Banks, smelters, paper mills, and waste recycling units shall be jointly responsible with the local cultural relics administrative department for selecting cultural relics mixed in silverware and waste materials. Selected cultural relics, except for historical currencies needed for bank research which may be retained by the People's Bank of China, shall be transferred to the local cultural relics administrative department. Reasonable compensation shall be provided for the transfer of selected cultural relics.

Chapter 6 Import and Export of Cultural Relics

Article 77 State-owned cultural relics, precious cultural relics among non-state-owned cultural relics, and other cultural relics prohibited from exiting the country, shall not be taken out of the country; exceptions include those exhibited abroad in accordance with this Law, or those exiting the country due to special needs and approved by the State Council.

The specific scope of cultural relics prohibited from exiting the country shall be stipulated and announced by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Article 78 The exit of cultural relics shall be reviewed by the cultural relics import and export review institution designated by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department. Cultural relics approved for exit after review shall be issued an exit permit for cultural relics by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department and exit from the port designated by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department.

Any unit or individual transporting, mailing, or carrying cultural relics out of the country shall declare to the customs; the customs shall release the cultural relics based on the exit permit for cultural relics.

Article 79 The exhibition of cultural relics abroad shall be submitted for approval to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department; for first-class cultural relics exceeding the quantity stipulated by the State Council, approval shall be obtained from the State Council.

Unique and easily damaged first-class cultural relics are prohibited from being exhibited abroad.

The exit of cultural relics for exhibitions abroad shall be reviewed and registered by the cultural relics import and export review institution. Customs shall release the cultural relics based on the approval document from the State Council's cultural relics administrative department or the State Council. The return of cultural relics exhibited abroad shall be reviewed and inspected by the original cultural relics import and export review institution that conducted the review and registration.

Article 80 For cultural relics temporarily entering the country, a declaration shall be made to the customs, and the cultural relics import and export review institution shall be notified for review and registration. If the cultural relics import and export review institution finds that the temporarily imported cultural relics belong to the cultural relics stipulated in Article 68 of this Law, it shall report to the State Council's cultural relics administrative department and inform the customs.

The re-export of temporarily imported cultural relics must be reviewed and inspected by the original cultural relics import and export review institution that conducted the review and registration; after review and inspection, an exit permit for cultural relics shall be issued by the State Council's cultural relics administrative department, and the customs shall release the cultural relics based on the exit permit for cultural relics.

Article 81 The state strengthens international cooperation in the field of tracing and repatriation of cultural relics. The State Council's cultural relics administrative department, in accordance with the law and in conjunction with relevant departments, shall trace cultural relics lost overseas due to theft, illegal exit, etc.; for foreign cultural relics illegally entering China, repatriation cooperation shall be carried out with relevant countries based on relevant treaties, agreements, or the principle of reciprocity.

The state reserves the right to recover cultural relics lost overseas due to theft, illegal exit, etc., and this right is not subject to any statute of limitations.

Chapter 7 Legal Liabilities

Article 82 For violations of this Law, local people's governments at all levels and relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county level, as well as their staff and other personnel performing public duties in accordance with the law, who abuse their power, neglect their duties, or engage in malfeasance, shall be given disciplinary sanctions in accordance with the law for leading personnel and directly responsible personnel.

Article 83 For any of the following acts, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order correction and give a warning; if damage to cultural relics or other serious consequences are caused, a fine of RMB 500,000 to RMB 5 million shall be imposed on the unit, and a fine of RMB 50,000 to RMB 500,000 shall be imposed on the individual, and the unit shall be ordered to bear the relevant costs of repairing and restoring the cultural relics, and the original issuing authority shall lower the qualification level; in serious cases, a fine of RMB 5 million to RMB 10 million may be imposed on the unit, and the original issuing authority shall revoke the qualification certificate:

(1) Carrying out construction projects other than cultural relics protection projects or blasting, drilling, excavation, etc., within the protection scope of a cultural relics protection unit without authorization;

(2) Carrying out construction projects within the construction control zone of a cultural relics protection unit without the consent of the cultural relics administrative department;

(3) Commencing construction without formulating protection measures for immovable cultural relics in situ, or without approval from the cultural relics administrative department for the protection measures for immovable cultural relics in situ;

(4) Unauthorized relocation or demolition of immovable cultural relics;

(5) Unauthorized repair of immovable cultural relics, significantly altering the original state of the cultural relics;

(6) Unauthorized reconstruction of completely destroyed immovable cultural relics in situ;

(7) Engaging in the repair, relocation, or reconstruction of cultural relics without obtaining a qualification certificate for cultural relics protection projects;

(8) Carrying out large-scale basic construction projects, or construction projects within the protection scope or construction control zone of a cultural relics protection unit, without conducting archaeological investigation and exploration in accordance with the law.

For damaging the protection signs of immovable cultural relics established in accordance with this Law, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall give a warning and may impose a fine of less than RMB 500.

Article 84 For the construction of facilities that pollute cultural relics protection units and their environment within the protection scope or construction control zone of a cultural relics protection unit, the ecological environment authority shall impose penalties in accordance with the law.

Article 85 For any of the following acts in violation of this Law, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order correction, give a warning or issue a public criticism, and confiscate illegal gains; for illegal gains exceeding RMB 5,000, a fine of two to ten times the illegal gains shall also be imposed; for no illegal gains or illegal gains less than RMB 5,000, a fine of RMB 10,000 to RMB 50,000 shall also be imposed:

(1) Transferring or mortgaging state-owned immovable cultural relics;

(2) Changing state-owned immovable cultural relics established as museums, cultural relics storage facilities, or for sightseeing purposes into enterprise assets for operation, or changing their management institutions to be managed by enterprises;

(3) Transferring or mortgaging non-state-owned immovable cultural relics to foreigners, foreign organizations, or international organizations;

(4) Unauthorized change of the use of memorial buildings or ancient buildings in state-owned cultural relics protection units.

Article 86 If the layout, environment, and historical features of a historically and culturally renowned city are seriously damaged, the State Council shall revoke its title as a historically and culturally renowned city; if the layout, environment, and historical features of a historically and culturally renowned street or village are seriously damaged, the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall revoke its title as a historically and culturally renowned street or village; disciplinary sanctions shall be given to leading personnel and directly responsible personnel in accordance with the law.

Article 87 For any of the following acts, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order correction, give a warning or issue a public criticism, and confiscate illegal gains; for illegal gains exceeding RMB 5,000, a fine of two to ten times the illegal gains shall also be imposed; for no illegal gains or illegal gains less than RMB 5,000, a fine of up to RMB 50,000 may also be imposed:

(1) Cultural relic collection units fail to equip facilities for fire prevention, theft prevention, and prevention of natural damage in accordance with relevant national regulations;

(2) The legal representative or main person in charge of a cultural relic collection unit fails to transfer the collected cultural relics according to the archives of the collected cultural relics when leaving office, or the transferred collected cultural relics do not match the archives of the collected cultural relics;

(3) State-owned cultural relic collection units donate, lease, sell, mortgage, or pledge collected cultural relics to other units or individuals;

(4) Borrowing or exchanging collected cultural relics in violation of the provisions of this Law;

(5) Misappropriating or embezzling compensation fees obtained from legally allocated, exchanged, or lent cultural relics.

Article 88 Those who buy or sell cultural relics prohibited from being bought or sold by the state, or transfer, lease, mortgage, or pledge cultural relics prohibited from leaving the country to foreign organizations or individuals shall be ordered by the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level to correct their actions, and their illegal gains and illegally operated cultural relics shall be confiscated; if the amount of illegal operation exceeds 5,000 yuan, a fine of not less than twice and not more than ten times the amount of illegal operation shall also be imposed; if there is no amount of illegal operation or the amount of illegal operation is less than 5,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall also be imposed.

If cultural relic sales units or cultural relic auction enterprises have the illegal acts stipulated in the preceding paragraph, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall confiscate their illegal gains and illegally operated cultural relics; if the amount of illegal operation exceeds 30,000 yuan, a fine of not less than twice and not more than ten times the amount of illegal operation shall also be imposed; if there is no amount of illegal operation or the amount of illegal operation is less than 30,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan and not more than 250,000 yuan shall also be imposed; in serious cases, the license shall be revoked by the original issuing authority.

Article 89 Those who engage in cultural relic commercial operations without permission shall be ordered by the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level to correct their actions, and shall be given a warning or criticized; their illegal gains and illegally operated cultural relics shall be confiscated; if the amount of illegal operation exceeds 30,000 yuan, a fine of not less than twice and not more than ten times the amount of illegal operation shall also be imposed; if there is no amount of illegal operation or the amount of illegal operation is less than 30,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan and not more than 250,000 yuan shall also be imposed.

Article 90 In any of the following circumstances, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order the correction, give a warning or criticism, confiscate the illegal gains and illegally operated cultural relics; if the amount of illegal operation exceeds 30,000 yuan, a fine of not less than twice and not more than ten times the amount of illegal operation shall also be imposed; if there is no amount of illegal operation or the amount of illegal operation is less than 30,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan and not more than 250,000 yuan shall also be imposed; in serious cases, the license shall be revoked by the original issuing authority:

(1) Cultural relic sales units engage in cultural relic auction operations;

(2) Cultural relic auction enterprises engage in cultural relic sales operations;

(3) Cultural relics auctioned by cultural relic auction enterprises have not been reviewed;

(4) Cultural relic collection units engage in cultural relic commercial operations;

(5) Cultural relic sales units and cultural relic auction enterprises knowingly sell or auction fakes, or engage in false advertising.

Article 91 For any of the following acts, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall, together with the public security organs and maritime law enforcement agencies, recover the cultural relics and give a warning; in serious cases, a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan and not more than 3 million yuan shall be imposed on the unit, and a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed on the individual:

(1) Discovering hidden cultural relics without reporting or refusing to hand them over;

(2) Failing to transfer selected cultural relics as prescribed.

Article 92 Cultural relics entering or leaving the country without declaration in accordance with the provisions of this Law shall be punished by the customs or maritime law enforcement agencies in accordance with the law.

Article 93 For any of the following acts, the cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order the correction; in serious cases, a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan and not more than 3 million yuan shall be imposed on the unit, business activities shall be restricted, or the license shall be revoked by the original issuing authority, and a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed on the individual:

(1) Changing the use of state-owned immovable cultural relics that have not been graded without reporting in accordance with the provisions of this Law;

(2) Transferring or mortgaging non-state-owned immovable cultural relics or changing their use without filing in accordance with the provisions of this Law;

(3) The user of state-owned immovable cultural relics has the ability to repair but refuses to perform the repair obligation in accordance with the law;

(4) Units engaged in archaeological excavation conduct archaeological excavation without approval, or fail to truthfully report the results of archaeological investigation, exploration, and excavation, or fail to transfer the cultural relics excavated in accordance with regulations;

(5) Cultural relic collection units fail to establish archives and management systems for collected cultural relics in accordance with relevant national regulations, or fail to file the archives and management systems for collected cultural relics;

(6) Retrieving collected cultural relics without permission;

(7) Repairing, replicating, or rubbing cultural relics without permission;

(8) Damage to collected cultural relics is not reported to the cultural relics administrative department for investigation and handling, or collected cultural relics are stolen, robbed, or lost, and the cultural relic collection unit fails to report to the public security organs or the cultural relics administrative department in a timely manner;

(9) Cultural relic sales units sell cultural relics or cultural relic auction enterprises auction cultural relics without making records in accordance with relevant national regulations or without filing the records with the cultural relics administrative department.

Article 94 Staff members of cultural relics administrative departments, cultural relic collection units, cultural relic sales units, and cultural relic auction enterprises who commit any of the following acts shall be given disciplinary sanctions in accordance with the law; in serious cases, they shall be dismissed from public office or their professional qualification certificates shall be revoked in accordance with the law:

(1) Staff members of cultural relics administrative departments and state-owned cultural relic collection units borrow or illegally occupy state-owned cultural relics;

(2) Staff members of cultural relics administrative departments and cultural relic collection units organize or participate in the organization of cultural relic sales units or cultural relic auction enterprises;

(3) Causing damage or loss of cultural relics protection units or precious cultural relics due to negligence;

(4) Embezzling or misappropriating cultural relics protection funds.

Those who are dismissed from public office or whose professional qualification certificates are revoked in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall not hold positions as cultural relics management personnel or engage in cultural relics operations within ten years from the date of dismissal from public office or revocation of their professional qualification certificates.

Article 95 If a unit violates the provisions of this Law and is subject to administrative penalties, and the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed on the person directly in charge of the unit and other persons directly responsible.

Article 96 Those who violate the provisions of this Law and infringe upon the civil rights and interests of others shall bear civil liability in accordance with the law; those who constitute acts that violate public security management shall be given public security management penalties by the public security organs in accordance with the law; those who constitute crimes shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.

Article 97 The cultural relics administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall implement supervision and inspection in accordance with the law and may take the following measures:

(1) Enter the site for inspection;

(2) Consult and copy relevant documents and materials, question relevant personnel, and seal up documents and materials that may be transferred, destroyed, or altered;

(3) Seal up and seize the venues, facilities, or property suspected of illegal activities;

(4) Order the perpetrator to stop infringing on the cultural relics.

Article 98 Cultural relics confiscated by the supervisory committee, people's courts, people's procuratorates, public security organs, customs, market supervision and administration departments, and maritime law enforcement agencies in accordance with the law shall be registered and properly kept, and shall be transferred free of charge to the cultural relics administrative department after the case is closed, and shall be collected by the state-owned cultural relics collection unit designated by the cultural relics administrative department.

Article 99 If serious damage to cultural relics or a serious risk of damage occurs due to violation of the provisions of this Law, resulting in infringement of social public interests, the People's Procuratorate may initiate a public interest litigation in accordance with the relevant provisions of the litigation law.

Chapter 8 Supplementary Provisions

Article 100 For the conditions, time limits, etc., of administrative licenses related to cultural relics protection, which are not stipulated in this Law, the provisions of the "Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China" and relevant laws and administrative regulations shall apply.

Article 101 This Law shall come into force on March 1, 2025.