Funding from Chinese, Swiss and US sources is being used to
renovate a rare ancient town in Yunnan Province.
The first phase of the work on Shaxi -- the only remaining town
on the ancient caravan trails sometimes known as China's second
Silk Road -- has now been completed.
So far, 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) has been spent, with
another 4 million yuan (US$480,000) committed to the second phase
of renovation.
Such financial input for the restoration of a single small town
is rare, representing a cooperative international effort to prevent
this precious part of China's heritage vanishing.
With Sideng Street at its core, Shaxi in the county of Jianchuan
was an important hub of communication and trade 1,000 years ago.
Hotels, opera stages, stores and temples have all been preserved
and restored.
Infrastructure, such as sewer system and streets, was repaired
in the first phase of the project, with an investment of 6 million
yuan (US$720,000) from the county government, according to local
magistrate Wang Yizhi.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology was
responsible for drafting the layout and architectural repair plans
for Sideng Street.
"Repair of Sideng Street strictly accords with its original
appearance," said Jacques Feiner, the Swiss project manager.
"Our work has been supported by the International Council on
Monuments and Sites and the International Center for the Study of
the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property," Feiner
added.
The caravan trails used to be a main channel connecting the
country's border areas to inner provinces.
Tea, silk, sugar and cloth went to border areas via Shaxi,
whilst fur and Tibetan medicine came to inner provinces.
(China Daily November 24, 2004)
