Photo: Chen Xi/GT

 
China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration used cutting edge technologies including satellite remote sensing and unmanned aerial surveillance to supervise and deal with illegal cases in Chinese cultural heritage protection in 2019, the administration announced on Thursday.

A total of 15 cities have been covered by the satellite remote sensing since 2017 and some illegal cases related to world cultural heritage and revolutionary relics have been checked and solved, according to a press conference held by the administration. 

“The approach of satellite remote sensing is one of the most important methods in our supervision tasks. According to statistics, the cases found by satellite remote sensing have taken up more than half of the number of total cases in recent years,” said Shi Xuemei, director of the supervision division, at the conference on Thursday. She added that the administration will further explore the application of satellite remote sensing and drone technology in cultural relic protection. 

China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration was made aware of 21 fire accidents involving cultural relics in 2019, and the main cause was electrical fire hazards, occupying 42 percent among the cases. 

The administration appointed four groups to oversee eight provinces in China in December 2019 and January 2020, undertaking random and secret investigations into fire hazards, safety management issues, and illegal construction behavior regarding key cultural relics and museum units, making sure the relic protection work goes well during Chinese New Year, according to Chen Peijun, director general of the administration’s Department of Supervision.

Global Times