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NW City Protecting Cultural Relics
Zhangye, a city with a long cultural tradition in northwest China's Gansu province, pays special attention to protecting cultural relics.
The protection of the Shanxi Gild Hall, which was built in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was one of the typical examples during the construction of the city's main avenue.
If the avenue should go straight, the Hall would be turned down.To protect the Hall, the designers decided to let the avenue go by the Hall, costing the city two million yuan more, but saving the Hall from being pulled down.
"It was once a heated debate among local residents as to whether the Hall should be demolished," recalled Wu Zhengke, an expert of cultural relics protection in the city.
"In the end, protecting the Hall won the day."
The Shanxi Gild Hall dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was a gathering place for wealthy merchants from neighboring Shanxi Province in the early Qing Dynasty.
Wu said that the Hall's architectural features and carvings are of high archeological value.
Zhangye is applying to the central authorities to designate the Hall as a state cultural protection site.
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