Source: CCTV.com

03-15-2007 09:43

Special Report:   2007 NPC & CPPCC sessions

Culture is one of the items on the agenda at the current sessions of the National People's Congress and Chinese People Political Consultative Conference being held in Beijing. Many CPPCC members have their ideas on how to better protect and promote Chinese culture.

Qingming, or Tomb-sweeping Day, is the traditional day for people to pay their respects to their ancestors by visiting their tombs or graves with gifts of food. This year it will fall on April the 5th. In Hong Kong the Qingming Festival is already an official public holiday.

Zhang Guoliang, a CPPCC member from Hong Kong, thinks that the mainland should follow suit and give everyone the day off work so that all Chinese across the country can worship their ancestors at the same time.

What worries Wu Youying is the loss of our architectural heritage: the features of our towns and cities that make them distinctive and unique. Too much modern construction obliterates all this and in her view, a city that has no traces of its past can have no real culture. She thinks more museums are needed to preserve the details of the past before they are lost.

Wu Youying said, "The museums needn't necessarily be tremendously large in scale, this would probably cost far too much any way. Just a small apartment will do."

Tang Zuxuan is a doctor who has been a CPPCC member three times. He has researched and produced a booklet on the promotion of traditional Chinese medicine. And it's all supported by the feedback he's received from around the country over the past fifteen years.

Tang Zuxuan said, "More is being spent on developing traditional Chinese medicine this year. It's a very positive situation"

Hopefully, with all the suggestions and ideas contributed, traditional Chinese culture can be better preserved and enjoyed by the whole nation.

 

Editor:Liu Fang