Beijing puts in one billion yuan to protect cultural relics

(BEIJING, January 8) -- Beijing has allocated one billion yuan (about 13 million U.S. dollars) to protect its cultural relics in the past eight years.

This sum is equal to the total amount spent for the purpose in the 110 years before 1990, and the beneficiary objects have an area of 500,000 sq meters, the China Press quoted Kong Fanzhi, director of the Beijing Cultural Relics Protection Bureau as saying.

The restoration program covered many world-renowned sites such as the reconstruction of Yongdingmen Gate; the repairing of the Tower of Buddhist Incense in the Summer Palace; the repainting of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the Temple of Heaven; the repairing of the Ming Tombs; and more than 140 imperial parks, religious buildings, residences of celebrities and city walls.

The most significant project to carry out the concept of the "People's Olympics" was initiated five years ago, when 600 million yuan was appropriated by the government and another five billion yuan was collected through the mobilization of social resources. As such, the basic structure of the historic and cultural city was reinforced, following the renovation of a series of important sites such as the Temple of Heaven; the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian; the Ming Tombs; the Imperial Temple of emperors of Successive Dynasties; and the Confucius Temple.

One notable example is the restoration of Beijing's 7.8km central axis, which stretches from Yongdingmen Gate in the south and the Drum and Bell Towers in the north. Called "the spine of Beijing," the axis became a line without a southern end after the Yongdingmen Gate was torn down in 1957. However, the newly built gate on the original site rejuvenated the axis. The landmark gate shines in correspondence with the Olympic Green in the extended line of the axis' northern tip where many Olympic projects are located.

Several historic sites have been salvaged during the construction of Olympic venues, Kong said. The site of the National Stadium and the National Aquatics Center had to be relocated to yield to the centuries-old Niangniang Temple and the Dragon King's Temple. The temples were originally built for the worship of a Taoist fertility goddess and a dragon deity who controls rain and rivers, respectively.

To protect the historic sites from unnecessary interferences, more than 800 organizations and over 14,000 households were relocated to create favorable conditions for their restoration.

In addition, the city has paid attention to the protection of traditional residential places such as Hutongs (alleyways). Today 658 Hutongs are marked with protection signs.

Altogether, Beijing now owns a total of over 3,500 unmovable cultural relics, including six World Heritage sites. Ninety-eight of them are under state protection and another 224 are under municipal protection.

In June, two months ahead of the Olympics, the refurbishing of the most important cultural site on the central axis -- Taihe (Supreme Harmony) Hall of the Forbidden City -- will be complete, and the famous Qianmen Street will be unveiled as a booming commercial center.