China to carry out nationwide fire safety check on museums and cultural relics

BEIJING — China will carry out a nationwide fire safety check on museums and cultural relics, according to a conference media statement.

The video and phone conference was jointly convened by the Ministry of Emergency Management, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as well as the National Cultural Heritage Administration on Sept 13.

China's cultural relic safety is so far stable, but fire prevention and control remains under pressure, due to a lack of safety awareness, management and facilities, said Huang Ming, vice minister of emergency management.

Huang added related authorities at all levels should take actions to effectively prevent and contain fire incidents, in order to ensure historical and cultural heritage sites will continue to stand for generations to come.

The conference stressed making full use of advanced technologies to enhance fire alarm and response systems, ensuring sufficient fire water supply and road clearance, and increasing public awareness of fire safety through brochures and public service announcements.

Fire can spread fast in China's ancient architecture, mostly wooden buildings.

Currently, there are close to 5,000 registered museums and over 50,000 cultural relic protection sites across China.