China announces latest 19 national archaeological parks

BEIJING -- China's National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) on Thursday announced its latest list of 19 national archaeological parks, increasing the total number in the country to 55.

Selected from 31 candidate sites, the oldest of the new national archaeological parks dates back to the Palaeolithic Period, while the youngest dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), according to a media release from the NCHA.

These are various types of archaeological sites, including settlement, town, kiln, mine, cemetery and temple sites, and are located in various geological environments, such as city downtown and suburb, village, and the Gobi Desert and oasis, the NCHA said.

These new national archaeological parks are of national, historical and cultural significance, and are qualified to be recognized as landmarks for Chinese civilization, it said.

All of the new parks have or are building museums, with outstanding performance in archaeological research, conservation, exhibition and management.

China started to select national archaeological parks back in 2010, and by 2025 the NCHA plans to begin the selection of another batch of parks.

National archaeological parks are popular among the public. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), the 36 national archaeological parks that were in existence then, received 40 million visitors annually on average, according to the NCHA.