developed slowly. The natural environments and relics of folk culture, art and handicrafts are well kept in these villages. Cultural relics authorities are planning an ancient village protection activity of an even larger scale. According to plan, China will make a general survey of ancient villages and traditional houses with great cultural and artisic values, and formulate a state protection plan.

　　中国古代村落数量大、分布广。这在世界罕见。除了少数鉴于宋元时期，大部分现存的村落都是明清时期的。他们分布在发展缓慢的山区。自然环境、民间文物、民间艺术和手工艺在这些村子里都得到了很好的保存。文物部门正计划实施大规模地保护村落活动。根据计划，中国将对古代村落和具有文化和艺术价值的传统民居进行一次大的普查，然后指定国家保护方案。

　　So far, 28 cultural and natural herital sites in China have been put on the UNESCO's World Cultural and Natural Heritage List, ranking China third in the world in this respect.

　　到目前为止。中国有28个自然文化遗址列入联合国教科文组织自然文化遗产名录，在这方面中国位居世界第三位。

【背景激趣】

　　　　　　　　 Zhou Dynasty relics unearthed in Shaanxi

　　Relics found in ancient burial pits last month have been hailed as among the greatest archaeological finds of 2005.

　　Articles unearthed from the site in Hancheng city in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province date back to the Zhou Dynasty of about 3,000 years ago.

　　They include more than 600 items of bronze ware, as well as rare gold items and lacquer(漆) ware, according to Shaanxi archaeological sources.

　　Excavation(发掘) leaders said they will resume the search in February after the Spring Festival and hope to make further discoveries.

　　"The findings so far may help rewrite historical records," said Jiao Nanfeng, director of Shaanxi Archaeology Research Institute.

　　He told China Daily the finds were the most important archaeological event in Shaanxi and one of the most significant throughout the whole country in 2005.

　　"The ancient Zhou's tombs we found were well protected," Jiao said.

　　"The hosts of the tombs are believed to be high-ranking officials in ancient times. The relics unearthed from the tombs provide precious materials for research on the period of Zhou Dynasty as it is the first time treasures like this have been unearthed."

　　In October, 2004, Hancheng Municipal Tourism Bureau, with help from local residents, located the large-scale ancient tomb group in Liangdai Village, about 7 kilometres northeast from the city.

　　With approval by Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau and the State Heritage Administration, excavation on the sites started in April, 2005, said Sun Bingjun, head of the excavation team.

　　After an eight-month effort, archaeologists found that the total area of the tombs group was about 33.3 hectares, which consisted of 103 tombs and 17 pits buried with bronze horses and chariots(战车), Sun said.

"From the four major large tombs themselves and rare treasures unearthed from them, we believe that the tombs belong to the dukes in late Western Zhou (11th century-771 BC) and early Eastern Zhou (770-256 BC). Since 1974, we have not found such old and high-ranking ancient tombs that had not suffered from robbing."