Twenty-one rare items were sealed in a 1,000-year-old tower to mark the beginning of the 21st century in Nanchang, capital of southern province of Jiangxi.
The most valuable item to be sealed was a Chinese fan made of gold and platina. The handle of the fan is made of two pieces of gold and its ribs consist of 10 Platinic pieces. The fan weighs 26.6 grams in total.
The fan was carved, in traditional Chinese calligraphy, with three miniature articles, 718 Chinese characters in total, telling the history of the tower and introduction of Wang Shicheng, fan maker and miniature artist.
People are only able to clearly see what the articles are about with help of a magnifier. Experts said it is extremely difficult to carve pictures or characters on platina, and the fan could be a piece of cultural heritage for later generations.
Wang's works, including Buddhist sutras, ancient Chinese poems and Mark Gospel, have been widely applauded by domestic and foreign experts and connoisseurs.
(Xinhua 01/04/2001)
