Govt to set up cultural relics online database

The public will be able to search for information about movable cultural relics on an online database by the end of this year, an official of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage said on Tuesday.

The bureau is currently surveying movable cultural relics from 1949 and earlier. The survey also includes paintings and calligraphies by late artists that are not allowed to be moved out of China, said Song Xinchao, deputy director of the administration.

About 1.5 million State-owned organizations and companies and more than 100 million cultural relics are involved in the survey. More than half of the provinces in China have finished the survey in their State-owned organizations.

This is the first nationwide survey on movable cultural relics. The survey started in 2013 to make relics more accessible to the public, says Song.

"Many of these cultural relics are not open to the public. By surveying and recording them online, we can tell their stories," says Song.

The survey will start with collections from public organizations before moving on to include private collections, Song says.