Chinese historian Li Yongtian is a sort of connoisseur of trash. When he learned that the old rough bricks of Beijing's Tian' anmen Square that had been trod on by millions of people over the years were being given away after the recent renovation project, he decided to find a use for them.

So, he had the bricks cut into smaller pieces and made beautiful silk, wood and paper covers for them. The souvenirs are 120 mm. by 96 mm. by 21 mm. Li says they symbolize a brighter century for China's 1.2 billion people and its 9.6 million sq. km. The new deluxe models were polished to a glossy shine, with one side in its original state. The mortar from which they were made has colorful pebbles mixed in it.

The 58-year-old historian said that earlier this year he had been trying to think of a suitable souvenir for the annual meeting in August of the Association of History of the People's Republic of China, of which he is deputy-secretary general. He had rejected the idea of the usual pens, notebooks, or cute handicrafts as being too ordinary and was racking his brains, when, all of a sudden, he heard that the old bricks of Tian'anmen Square had been thrown on the rubble heap and construction companies were paying anyone who would carry the old bricks away.

Li has marked each brick for each day of the 50 years of the People's Republic, with certification by the association. That means 18,251 bricks. To prevent any foul play, he has patented his invention, with help from his lawyer friends.

The professor was unwilling to disclose how many bricks he has given to successful and patriotic Chinese celebrities and institutions, including the heads of Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. The very first brick, No. 19491001 has been collected by the Museum of the Chinese Revolution.

Li urged the collectors to treasure the bricks, saying, "when a mother puts on new closes for her 50-year-old birthday, her children should secretly store up her old clothes for memory, instead of allowing them to decay like trash."

Recently, he has decided to add the heads of states which have established diplomatic relations with China on the list of recipients for the bricks. The embassies of Lebanon and Namibia in China received the bricks on December 24, who will give the gifts to their presidents.

The professor's love with waste dates back to six years ago, when he established a garbage disposal company in Beijing with 10, 000 yuan at a time when environmental protection awareness had not reached a very high level. When a Hong Kong company later became his company's major share holder, Li went from president to honorary president of the Beijing Wealthcome Dangdai Garbage Disposal Engineering Co., Ltd. after a corporate shake-up. The company's assets has gone up to 800 million yuan (about 96 million US dollars) now. (Xinhua)