Before (left) and after restoration on part of thousand-armed Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) in Dazu [Photo provided to China Daily]

On International Day on Monuments and Sites, which fell on April 18, China's third list of 10 best cultural relic restoration projects was released by the Chinese Committee for the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and China Cultural Relic News, affiliated to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

"This time, we emphasize that restoration on cultural relic sites are beyond regular construction," said Song Xinchao, deputy director of the administration. "They should be more of academic research programs. More scientific approaches used. A special supervision system is needed."

"These examples also encourage people to study how to preserve original materials and facades of the relics during restoration," he said.

He pointed out some new issues in today's restoration projects, like how to comprehensively improve surrounding environments to avoid further damage to the old buildings.

The first two lists were released in 2014 and 2015, which was originally planned to select the best 10 projects in the previous year, but the new list lifts that rigid time restriction, and the poll expands to candidates in a few recent years.