Chen halted the real estate project and pushed instead to rebuild the ancient town.

"Tai'erzhuang is infused with culture," he says. "It thrived during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties because of the Grand Canal and hosted the Battle of Tai'erzhuang - China's first major victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Its cultural resources will never be depleted."

But, physically speaking, over 90 percent of the ancient town was destroyed in battle.

Chen and his colleagues spent three years collecting pictures, documents, films and photos to learn what the town was like before the war. They also visited all the locals older than 80.

Chen spent 47 weeks in Tai'erzhuang in 2007, his driver says.

The project's layout was drafted by 2009.

The Party chief raised funds by persuading five State-run coal companies - all eager to transform their structures - to join the project. About 1.7 billion yuan ($274 million) has been spent on the project in total.

The 2-square-kilometer town is still under construction, but major parts are open to tourists. These include 10 main streets, 72 lanes and 108 bridges.

The buildings are constructed on their original sites and in their original forms. Photographs of the originals are posted next to some.

The rebuilt Tai'erzhuang is the first cross-Strait communication base approved by the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office and a 5-A tourist site - the highest national-level designation.