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)