An ancient nine-sided well, bearing a wooden structure, with a history of over 2,000 years is discovered in North China's Shanxi province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The city of Yangquan in North China's Shanxi province has achieved strong results in protecting its cultural relics in recent years. 

The local municipal bureau of culture and tourism has upgraded the level rating of 31 cultural relics in the city. Since 2021, Yangquan has added eight cultural relic sites under provincial protection, and Cangshan Temple has been recognized as a national pilot site for the protection and utilization of cultural relics. 

There are currently 11, 13, and 60 cultural relic sites under national, provincial and municipal protection, respectively. 

In October 2021, the city announced the protection scope and construction control areas of 20 cultural relic sites under municipal-level protection, and equipped 60 sites under municipal-level protection with special cultural relic protection personnel.

A database of regional cultural relic resources has been established as well, which records space vector information on 1,118 immovable cultural relics in the city and includes the data in the city's 2021-35 plan for land and space. 

The courtyard at Baojin Alley in Yangquan is the site of the first city administration established by the Communist Party of China. [Photo by Zhang Zheyuan for China Daily]

To strengthen the protection, management and promotion of cultural resources related to the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Yangquan has enacted and implemented the Regulations on the Protection of Red Cultural Resources in Yangquan. It is the first local regulation in the province aimed at protecting cultural resources related to the CPC's history, marking a new step forward in the legal development of the protection of cultural relics in Yangquan. 

The city has surveyed and identified 169 cultural relic sites related to the CPC's history, among which four have won provincial recognition.

In addition, Yangquan has approved a joint conference system for the safety of cultural relics, which clarifies the responsibilities of 15 departments involved in the protection of cultural relics. The 97 local cultural relic institutions have signed a commitment to perform their duties to protect cultural relics and ancient buildings. In addition, 170 museums have been made responsible for the safety of cultural relics and accepted social supervision. 

With the aim of garnering public interest in the history behind the cultural relics and teaching them the history and culture of their hometown, various museums in Yangquan have held 200 online and offline education activities attended by more than 20,000 people.