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Water diversion may leave wound on cultural heritage
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-09 11:02 While China is stepping up the
construction of its south-north water diversion project, a projected life line
for hundreds of millions of people in the north, a plan for protecting the
cultural relics at the construction sites is still under discussion.
The contradiction between modernization and cultural heritage protection is
again in the spotlight in the massive infrastructure project.
Largest month, an investigation group composed of national advisors, heritage
protection experts and water conservancy experts had an inspection tour along
the route of the water diversion project, including Shandong, Jiangsu, Hubei and
Henan provinces, to see how cultural relics are protected.
"Archeological excavation and heritage protection should have been done
before the start of the project. But the preservation plan has not been approved
yet and the fund is not in place," said Tong Peihua, deputy director of the
archaeological institute of Shandong Province.
In order to tackle the problem of water shortage in the northern part of the
country, China launched the south-north water diversion project at the end of
2002.
The eastern route of the project is expected to supply water to Shandong by
2007. The central route is due to supply water to Henan and Hebei provinces,
Beijing and Tianjin by 2010.
A reservoir of precious Chinese cultural artifacts will be affected by the
project, as it courses through the hinterland of China's ancient civilization.
Many cultural relics are facing the threat of damage as the time and money
spent in heritage protection is far from enough. Some experts have warned that
the project would leave a deep wound in China's cultural heritage without
immediate measures for protection.
The latest figure provided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
shows that a total of 788 cultural heritage sites will be affected by the
south-north water diversion project.
They include at least two world heritage sites -- Yuzhen Palace on the Wudang
Mountain and the Great Wall remains of the Yan State in the Warring States
Period (475-221 BC).
In addition, two heritage sites under national level protection and 24 sites
under provincial level protection will also be affected.
But nobody knows how many underground relics will be submerged by water.
A water conservancy expert participating in the investigation said it was
really an urgent job to start the south-north water diversion project as the
whole region of north China depends on over-exploitation of underground water
resources for water supply.The water source for supply to the national capital
of Beijing would dry up in a dozen of years if the situation continues.
According to him, the fund for cultural heritage protection of the water
diversion project should be included in the total cost of the project, which is
supported by financial resources of the central and local governments and bank
loans.
However, many local governments concerned hold that cultural relics belong to
the state and the cost of protection should be covered by the central
government, he said.
As a result, when modernization meets ancient relics, the balance of favors
leans to the former in today's China, a country where problems such as poverty
and shortage of energy resources seem more urgent than cultural heritage
protection.
But many Chinese have begun to worry that if the current trendspersist there
will be too little cultural heritage left to future generations.
A similar problems came into being in the construction of the Three Gorges
Project. Experts say the cultural heritage sites affected by the south-north
water diversion project are much more valuable than those in the Three Gorges.
Chinese archaeologists say they are in a "golden age" since large-scale
infrastructure construction throughout the country means increasing
opportunities for archaeological excavations.
But archaeologists are ambivalent. They are happy that many great discoveries
have been brought by the construction projects, but also worried about the
inevitable damage that will be incurred by ancient relics.
The coming two decades will see more large-scale construction projects in
China. Experts say China should sum up the experience in cultural heritage
protection gained in undertaking large projects and seek a balance between
development and the protection of ancient history and culture.
"The south-north water diversion project will also become a site of human
cultural heritage someday in the future," said renowned Chinese cultural
heritage expert Xie Chensheng.
"The value of this future heritage depends on how much heritage we preserve
today," Xie said.
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