After briefly evoking the importance in numbers and quality of China's above and underground cultural relics and their urgent need for preservation, the author surveys the activities of the Chinese Scientific and Technological Institute for Conservation of Cultural Relics, Beijing, of which he is the director. The Institute researches and applies scientific methods to the excavation and conservation of ancient tombs; studies the theory and develops treatment methods for the conservation of objects (made of wood, paper, lacquer, textile fibers, stone, pottery, metal, etc.) transferred to the museum; oversees environmental control in the museum setting with special attention to the avoidance of ultraviolet light; studies the causes for the deterioration of grottoes and applies treatment (high polymer chemical grouting with metal fluke rivets for jointing); researches the causes of damage to wallpaintings, colored clay sculpture and pottery and the appropriate consolidation techniques either on site or after removal; works on chemical consolidation methods for ancient buildings mainly made of wood but also of stone, brick, tile, adobe, and mud, including fireproofing methods and insect control; examines and dates ancient artifacts using radiocarbon dating and thermoluminescence methods.