BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Several ministerial-level Chinese authorities have issued a circular on comprehensively strengthening the protection of historical and cultural heritage.

The circular has highlighted both protection and utilization of China's historical and cultural heritage, with protection as the top priority.

The protection of cultural relics should be coordinated with the development of urban and rural construction, economy and tourism, according to the circular.

It asks localities and relevant departments to actively explore innovative transformation and input new vitality to historical and cultural heritage.

It calls for constant improvement in discovering and elaborating the values of the heritage and the ways of presenting them to the rest of the world.

The circular was jointly released by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Cultural Heritage Administration.