More than 3,000 US made artillery shells left over from World War II have been unearthed at a building site in Changchun.

Many of the shells are still live and could explode at any time, experts said.

According to Changchun Public Security Bureau, it is the largest munitions cache ever found in the city.

"My heart jumped into my throat when I heard the news that such a large number of bombs had been buried near my home for more than 50 years and could have exploded at any time," said one nearby resident.

"Though the police and army are on guard 24 hours, I am still worried," she added

Half the munitions, including hand grenades, mortars and flares, have been safely disposed of, while around 1,500 are still stored on the building site, awaiting destruction.

According to a survey, which checked to a depth of two meters, there are no more weapons buried on the site.

However, making safe the excavated weapons has been hampered by the high cost of transporting them and hiring a safe place where they can be detonated, said Zhu Yu, deputy chief of the security management department of Changchun Public Security Bureau.

The first 107 shells were discovered on October 20, by a construction team working in Fanrong Road. Over the next 23 days, weapons excavated from the site continued to pile up.

Well preserved after more than 50 years underground, experts say the weapons belonged to the Kuomintang (KMT), which received military help from the United States during the 1930s and 40s.

The munitions might have been abandoned when the KMT troops withdrew from the Northeast ahead of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

"Construction work will resume soon," said Gui Guangli, deputy secretary-general of Changchun municipal government.

Changchun's history over the first half of the 20th century is chequered with visits from various armies from home and abroad.

Japanese, Soviet Union and KMT forces all once called the town home.

According to Li Wansen, an 82-year-old retired policeman, the discovery of abandoned munitions in the area ties in with the city's military past.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)