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 shortages of energy seem more urgent than protecting cultural heritage.

But many insightful Chinese have begun to worry that if current trends persist there will be too little cultural heritage left to future generations.

The debate has attached itself to the on-going massive project of diverting water from the south to the north, which will affect a reservoir of precious Chinese cultural artifacts, as it courses through the hinterland of China's ancient civilization.

Chinese cultural heritage departments and water resources departments are racing to rescue ancient relics and minimize damage to cultural heritage done by the ambitious project.

There have been some successes. The design department of the south-north water diversion project accepted the advice of archaeologists and cultural heritage experts and have adjusted the design of the water canals many times.

After those adjustments, the project gave way to many rare ancient relics sites such as the 3,000-year-old Yin Ruins, where oracle bones were spotted, and remains of the Zhao State from the Warring States period some 2,000 years ago.

The latest figure of 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, much less than the figure of some 900 estimated at the beginning of the project.

The project will affect at least two world heritage sites - Yuzhen Palace in Wudang Mountain and the Great Wall remains of the Yan State in the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.).

In addition, two heritage sites under national level protection and 24 sites under provincial level protection will also be affected.

According to a plan on protecting cultural heritage in the water diversion project, which is still under discussion, heritage sites on the ground should be protected or relocated, while relics underground should be explored, and the important ones chosen by experts should be excavated.

The planned excavation areas exceed 1.8 million square meters, and the total cost in protection and excavation is estimated to be nearly one billion yuan (about 123 million US dollars), according to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

In order to tackle the problem of water shortage in the northern regions of the nation, China launched the south-north water diversion project at the end of 2002. The central route and eastern route of the project cover almost all the major historical culture areas in China.

The eastern route is expected to supply water to Shandong Province by 2007. The central route is due to supply water to Henan and Hebei provinces, Beijing and Tianjin by 2010.

Seeing that too little time is left for the excavation and protection of the ancient relics, the heritage protection departments in Hebei, Henan and Hubei have aroused archaeologists to conduct excavations of important sites since the spring of 2005after getting permission from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Similar substantial efforts to rescue cultural heritage have also been made in the grand Three Gorges Project. At the peak period of excavation, more than 1,000 experts from two-thirds of China's archaeological research institutes and universities gathered at the Three Gorges.

Experts say the cultural heritage sites affected by the south-north water diversion project are much more valuable than those in the Three Gorges.

It is a "golden age" for Chinese archaeologists. Since the founding of new China in 1949, most of the country's archaeological excavations had been conducted to support infrastructure construction.

Archaeologists are ambivalent. They are happy that many great discoveries have been brought by the construction projects. But they are also worried about the inevitable damage that will be incurred to ancient relics.

The coming two decades will see more large-scale construction projects in China. Experts say China should sum up lessons and experience of cultural heritage protection gained in undertaking large projects and seek a balance between modern development and the protection of ancient history and culture.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2005)