Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Regulation Adopted to Protect Ancient Mausoleum
The legislature of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region recently passed legislation to guarantee the protection of the Mausoleum of the king of the Western Xia Dynasty, also known as the "Oriental pyramid".
The legislature of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region recently passed legislation to guarantee the protection of the Mausoleum of the king of the Western Xia Dynasty, also known as the "Oriental pyramid".
Western Xia, an ancient kingdom established in the 11th century by a number of ethnic groups in what is now Ningxia, disappeared mysteriously much like the Mayan Civilization, leaving behind an eternal mystery in the area of the history of world civilization.
The mausoleum, 30 kilometers west of the suburbs of Ningxia's capital Yinchuan, houses nine imperial tombs and 250 attendant tombs covering a total area of 50 square kilometers. It has been under state protection since 1988.
The new set of regulations, which will take effect on April 1 of this year, prohibits the erection of new tombs, herding, hunting, mining, rubbish dumping and storage of flammable goods inthe vicinity of the mausoleum.
Those who undertake construction, explosions or drilling within the protection zone will be subject to fines ranging from between 50,000 and 500,000 yuan (60,240 US dollars).