The National Cultural Heritage Administration has issued its archaeology development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), pointing out seven key tasks to build archaeology with Chinese characteristics and deepen understanding of Chinese civilization.
Released on Saturday, the plan sets out major objectives for the next five years, including more robust archaeological management systems, optimized talent structures, and research breakthroughs on major academic issues. It has nine parts, with the second through eighth sections elaborating on the seven major tasks and the final section outlining safeguard measures.
According to the administration, the aim is to make Chinese archaeology more professional, internationalized, scientific and sustainable, thereby comprehensively promoting the high-quality development of archaeological work.
The work follows four principles: academic leadership through major projects targeting key historical issues; systematic coordination of archaeology with urban-rural development; innovation through multidisciplinary cooperation; and open sharing of results and international exchanges.
The first task focuses on deepening historical research on Chinese civilization by advancing major projects such as "Archaeology China" and the sixth phase of the project tracing the origins of Chinese civilization, while also strengthening regional and thematic archaeological work and improving the layout of frontier archaeology. Research programs on the origins and evolution of East Asian humans and studies on maritime heritage and the Maritime Silk Road should also be accelerated.
The second task addresses archaeological work in city construction through the full implementation of the "archaeology first, land transfer later" system, the designation of additional underground heritage burial zones, and stronger protection of cultural relics in maritime-related projects. For historically significant cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, and Xi'an in Shaanxi province, the plan emphasizes integrating archaeological resources into territorial spatial planning and building unified, dynamic urban archaeology platforms.
Scientific and multidisciplinary support is highlighted in the third task. The plan envisions a network of archaeological science laboratories and research platforms, with enhanced application of carbon dating, zooarchaeology (the study of animal remains from archaeological sites), and archaeobotany (the study of plant remains from archaeological sites) in fieldwork. It also encourages collaboration between archaeology and natural sciences, and supports the development of a dedicated artificial intelligence model for tasks such as artifact identification and virtual restoration.
The remaining four tasks cover the sharing of archaeological results, international cooperation, the optimization of academic and disciplinary systems, and capacity building. The plan also calls for strengthening comparative research between Chinese and overseas civilizations.
To support these tasks, it outlines safeguard measures including strengthened funding, improved legal frameworks, and enhanced coordination among government departments to ensure effective implementation.
