Cultural institutions honor contributions to relics' protection

Many cultural relics of the Palace Museum - China's former imperial palace in Beijing, which is also known as the Forbidden City - and some ancient books in the collection of the National Library of China are in the two institutions due to the efforts of Zheng Zhenduo (1898-1958).

Zheng, a pioneer in cultural-relic protection in New China, was honored by the museum and library in Beijing on Wednesday. The day marked the 120th anniversary of his birth. Zheng was the first director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration after 1949.

When he took the position, the country had just started reconstruction after the civil war. Zheng immediately began his endeavor to bring some lost treasures home.