The authority with the Committee of Administration for Mount Wudang Special Economic Zone, in central China's Hubei Province, said they would spend more to repair and rescue cultural relics here in the latter half of the year.

"Protection is an overriding task for development here," said Li Faping, director of the committee, who also cited a few examples.

A tourist center, a folkway and cultural village and a parking lot for buses, with an investment of 300 million yuan (US$3.6 million), will be built outside the main entrance to the complex of ancient temples and palaces at Mount Wudang in line with the requirements laid down in a plan compiled to utilize the tourism resources and at the same time to protect the large number of ancient temples and palaces from destruction.

Reconstruction of the divine passage connecting Qiongtai MiddleTemple, scheduled to begin in the second half of 2004, is expected to cost 6 million yuan (US$723,000 US dollars), while rebuilding of the main hall of Nanyan Temple, estimated to cost 7 million yuan (US$843,400), which has passed the appraisal of a national panel of ancient architects, started construction in late May this year.

Joining the imposing Qinling Range to the northwest and Shennongjia Primitive Forest Nature Reserve to the south, Mount Wudang stretches over 400 km and comprises 72 peaks, 36 cliffs and24 dales. It used to be administered by Danjiangkou, a county-level city, but now falls under jurisdiction of Shiyan, a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province.

Mount Wudang, with a long history associated with Taoism, was included by UNESCO onto the World Cultural Heritage List in 1994 for housing numerous palaces and temples which exemplify the architectural and artistic feats of China's imperial Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and represent the highest standards of Chinese art and architecture over a period of nearly 1,000 years.

The galaxy of palaces and temples, dedicated to Taoism, were built in the scenic valleys and on the slopes of Mount Wudang. According to historical records, people arrived at the mountain to practice Taoism back in the Jin Dynasty (260-420), but the earliest temples now preserved at Mount Wudang were built in Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Wudang Taoism was featured by its worship for the Great Perfect Warrior Emperor, its practice of Chinese Inner School Boxing, its advocacy of the integration of Three Doctrines and its emphasis on Cultivation and Refinement of Inner Alchemy and Spiritual Nature.

Several of the buildings were ruined throughout the ages. But the ancient structures are well preserved at 53 places, with a combined floor space of 27,230 square meters and 5,000 cultural relics also remain intact, of which, 1,000 are listed for top state protection.

Best known temples are Zixiao, Taihe, Jindian and Yuzhen. Amongthem, the 600-year-old Yuzhen Palace, with an area of over 50,000 square meters, represented a typical example in the late imperial Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty architecture. It had been rented by a private kung fu school. 

A major fire broke out at Yuzhen Palace on the evening of Jan. 19, and its main hall was burnt down and reduced to ashes, and nearby cultural relics were damaged.

While lamenting the destruction of the main hall of Yuzhen Palace and the loss of many cultural relics along with the destruction, Li Faping, the director, said that plenty had been done to put in order the chaos in the management of the world cultural heritage site and prevent future damages after the YuzhenPalace incident.

According to Li, the provincial Party and government authorities made a decision in an on-the-spot problem-solving meeting convened at Mount Wudang on June 17 last year to form a special leading group led by a deputy provincial governor to give guidance in management of Mount Wudang which was from that day on to be administered by Shiyan City instead of Danjiangkou City.

In that decision, the Committee of Administration for Mount Wudang Special Economic Zone was reassured of a special annual allocation of 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) from the provincial finance for protecting cultural relics, and another 100million yuan (US$12 million) needed in supporting developments at Mount Wudang.

A number of colleges and universities have been invited to compile plans regarding subjects such as overall development, cultural relic rescuing and tourism development at Mount Wudang so that all new developments at Mount Wudang will be rational and scientifically-based.

A program designed to protect major cultural relics via rescuing efforts, costing 60 million yuan (US$7.2 million), has been launched. Leaders with the Committee of Administration for Mount Wudang World Cultural Heritage Site have all been assigned with specific responsibilities for cultural relic safety.

A total of 21 million yuan (US$2.5 million) has been spent in repairing the divine passage connecting to Jinding Temple, the corridor and side halls of Nanyan Palace, Wuyunlou Temple at Taizipo, the main hall of Qiongtai Middle Temple, and in constructing nine ponds for fire control.

And highways inside the scenery have all been rebuilt and added with facilities such as road signs and safety protection shields at the roadsides. A total of 680 households will also be relocated out of the central scenery area and arable land with a combined area of 67 hectares has been reclaimed for them to live on.

Guo Zhanzhu, chief in charge of publicity with Mount Wudang Special Economic Zone, said they had also lavished 2 million yuan in financing activities including production of special TV programs, a kung fu troupe and an artistic troupe to step up publicity on the world cultural heritage site and attract more tourists.

In the first five months of the year, the number of visitor arrivals to Mount Wudang totaled 450,000, almost double that for the same period last year, said an official with the General Office of the Mount Wudang Special Economic Zone.

The number of tourist arrivals to the mountain was 860,000 in 2002, including 12,000 overseas tourists. And tourist arrivals to the sacred place for Taoism from January to May that year stood at 280,000.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2004)