A furore has erupted over the construction of an aluminium plant
in north China's Shanxi
Province, which is alleged to have led to the damage of
irreplaceable cultural heritage.
"Bulldozers have ruined a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) beacon tower
and dozens of ancient tombs have been destroyed," claimed Shi
Weiguo, a senior engineer from the Yuanping Cultural Relics
Bureau's exploration center.
He said the tombs were believed to be from the Han Dynasty
(206BC-AD220).
Shi said many of the tombs were clustered together, so the real
extent of the damage is still unknown.
The Shandong Luneng Group Corp is investing in the plant. It
claimed there were no local records of a beacon tower in the
area.
"Only two ancient tombs have been discovered by us," said Chen
Baojun, a company departmental manager. "And they have been well
preserved by us."
Eager to finish the first stage of its new plant, the company
broke ground in October without obtaining clearance from the local
cultural relics protection authorities, Shi claimed.
As a result, the beacon tower was ruined and more than 30 tombs
were destroyed, he alleged.
Shi said he and his colleagues visited the site several times
before construction started, asking the company to conduct an
archaeological survey.
But the company repeatedly put off their proposal.
According to China's law to preserve cultural relics,
pre-archaeological investigations have to be included in
construction budgets.
"We did have a budget for an archaeological survey," Chen said.
"But it was not enough to cover what the bureau was quoting us to
do the job."
He said the local bureau of cultural relics had asked for 4
million yuan (US$480,000) to complete the first phase of the
survey, "and that was too much for us."
"What's more, we obtained relevant documents from the local
government, allowing us to start construction at the site," Chen
alleged.
He said the construction team stopped work on December 8.
National and local experts have investigated the beacon tower
and destroyed tombs.
Song Beishan, vice governor of the province, went to the site
recently in a bid to reach an agreement with the construction
team.
Work will be suspended until an archaeological investigation can
be carried out, which is expected to take place after the February
9 Spring
Festival, Chen said.
Shi says the survey will be used to salvage what is left of the
decimated tombs and ensure the rest of them are protected.
(China Daily January 8, 2005)