China will expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI), satellite remote sensing, drones, 3D modeling and virtual reality as part of a new five-year plan aimed at protecting and preserving cultural heritage.
The plan for the protection and transmission of cultural heritage for the 2026-2030 period proposes safeguarding various cultural assets, including grottoes, ancient murals, rock art, earthen sites, ancient books and archival materials.
Home to more than 760,000 immovable cultural relics and about 108 million pieces (or sets) of state-owned movable cultural relics, China is using technology to help survey, monitor and protect its vast cultural heritage resources.
The growing use of AI and other digital technologies is also changing how cultural heritage is protected, with experts noting a shift from simply recording and monitoring sites toward earlier risk detection.
The satellite is designed to monitor changes in the environment surrounding heritage structures, using high-resolution imaging and an AI recognition model to detect changes such as abnormal construction activities. It can also provide long-term monitoring of risks including landslides, floods, wind-sand erosion and land subsidence.
The plan sets out 33 major tasks for cultural heritage protection and inheritance from 2026 to 2030, placing technological innovation within a systematic framework that also covers archaeological work, intangible cultural heritage, museums and international cooperation.
It aims to bring archaeological work forward in the development process, particularly where construction may affect underground cultural heritage. The plan requires archaeological surveys before major development projects and calls for integrated protection of cultural relics and their historic settings.