China adopts new rules to put regional cultural systems under State protection

BEIJING — China has adopted a regulation to put regional cultural systems under State protection, according to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Dec 24.

The regulation on the establishment and operation of “State reserves of cultural ecology” will take effect from March 1, 2019, a ministry statement said.

The reserves aim to protect unique and long-lasting regional cultural systems, which the ministry called “cultural ecologies.”

As a pilot project, the Chinese government has founded 21 State-level reserves of cultural ecology since 2007, including reserves of southern Fujian culture, Hakka culture, Qiang ethnic group and other ethnic groups in southwest Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

The regulation, based on pilot-project experiences, clarifies procedures for establishing the reserves and evaluating their operation, while removing disqualified ones.