77.9 pct of surveyed aware of cultural heritage conservation

A majority of respondents in a recent survey said they are aware of the significance of protecting cultural heritage and willing to learn more about the issue.

A total of 90.2 percent of 2,000 respondents in an online questionnaire were willing to learn more about cultural heritage preservation, according to the survey report published Tuesday by China Youth Daily.

About 83.4 percent of the respondents said they paid close attention to news about cultural heritage, the survey report said.

"In recent years, China's TV shows on cultural relics have shifted from focusing merely on their collection and economic value to learning the stories behind them, which represents the public's growing understanding and consciousness of their preservation," said Tang Miao, a scholar from the department of archaeology at Jilin University.

Concerning preservation problems, 68.2 percent of the respondents said more systematic measures should be adopted, while 74.8 percent believed people's awareness still needed to be broadened.

China has adopted measures such as promoting free admission in public museums and building more heritage parks since 2008.

"Cultural heritage preservation will be unsustainable without the public's participation. Now with encouragement from the government, there are more nongovernmental organizations and companies across China joining in, and we are exploring a sustainable model based on people's closer relation with cultural relics," said Tang.