Such cultural relics will include documents involving China’s participation in founding of and working for the United Nations; documents concerning China’s taking part international organizations and conferences; important treaties and joint declarations between China and other countries; documents concerning negotiations between China and Britain and Portugal on the resumption of exercising sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macao; articles involving demarcation of boundary lines with neighboring countries; as well as gifts of major significance from foreign state and government leaders to Chinese leaders.

According to the historical, artistic and scientific value, China ranks the modern and contemporary cultural relics as rare ones and ordinary ones. Meanwhile, the rare cultural relics can be divided into three grades.

China traditionally fixes the year 1840 as the beginning of modern and contemporary history.

According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, China has 60,000 pieces of first-grade cultural relics from 12 million exhibits in 2,000 museums throughout the country.

(People’s Daily 10/14/2000)