"Up to 2 Billion Won for Damage"... Warning Issued Over China's Cultural Heritage Protection

Regulations on the Protection of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang Revised
Full costs of repairs and restoration must be covered

Chinese authorities recently issued revised Regulations on the Protection of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. The regulations stipulate fines of up to 10 million yuan (about 2 billion won) for acts of damage, including carrying out construction work in the protected area without approval.

According to local media, including Hongxing News, on November 8, authorities in Shaanxi Province decided to substantially raise the fines imposed when problems such as damage to the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang occur. Under the revised regulations, individuals who damage the site will face fines of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan (about 10 million to 100 million won), while institutions will be fined 500,000 to 5 million yuan (about 100 million to 1 billion won). They must also cover the full cost of repairing and restoring the cultural heritage site.

Chinese authorities recently issued revised Regulations on the Protection of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. Official Weibo account of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum.

In particularly serious cases, the relevant institution may be fined 5 million to 10 million yuan (about 1 billion to 2 billion won). The regulations also specify administrative sanctions, including downgrading a company's construction-related business qualification or revoking its qualification certificate (license) outright.

Specifically prohibited acts include: ▲carrying out construction, blasting, exploration, or excavation in the protected area of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang without authorization, except for cultural heritage protection work; ▲proceeding with construction in the protected area or construction control zone without undergoing archaeological surveys and exploration as required by law; and ▲implementing a construction plan without the consent of the competent authorities.

Before the revision, fines were only 100,000 to 500,000 yuan. With this revision, the maximum fines have been raised by as much as 20 times or more.

The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is considered one of the world's eight great wonders and is a major historic site that attracts considerable interest both in China and around the world. It covers approximately 56 square kilometers, about seven times the area of the Forbidden City, and was built over approximately 38 years, from 246 BC to 208 BC. A farmer first discovered it in 1974, and the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang Museum opened in 1979. In 1987, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the Terracotta Army.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.