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After heated public debate and appeals from cultural experts, authorities in Nanjing have announced that a subway station will not be built under the ancient Ming Palace.

The government of Nanjing ruled on Monday that the subway station between the Daxingong and Zhongshan Gate section of the No 2 metro line, which is under construction, will now be built on the campus of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA).

The city's communications authorities initially announced this May that the station would be built right under the centre of the ancient Ming Palace, saying that it would be convenient for passengers to change to other subways or buses.

This plan was strongly criticized by cultural heritage experts.

The original version of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the palace for Ming and Qing (1644-1911) emperors, the Ming palace in Nanjing is considered a symbol of the city's long history of culture and civilization.

"Being 300 metres away from the original site, the new station avoids destroying the Ming Dynasty (1388-1644) heritage, a concern of many citizens," an official surnamed Zhou with the city's Publicity Bureau told China Daily.

The country's State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) in June recommended the station be moved, after the 600-year-old site was promoted to national-level protection status on June 10.

It was reported by Xinhua News Agency that SACH suggested authorities in Nanjing, now capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, re-route the subway around the protection zone, prompting Nanjing Municipal Government to choose the NUAA site.

According to Pan Guxi, a senior architecture expert with Nanjing-based Southeast University, as well as the ancient buildings on the surface, researchers in 2000 found a huge building cluster dating from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) buried three to six metres under the ground.

"If the original proposal was approved, the construction team would have to dig a 10,000-square-metre hole in order to accommodate the four entrances to the station, which undoubtedly would divide the ancient underground cluster into two parts," said Pan.

Local people welcomed the news. "History is very important, we cannot give it up just for modern development," said Chen Liangwei, 32, a bookstore employee.

"If we do, in the future the city will have no memory."

The No 2 metro line, construction of which started last December, will be 21.4 kilometres in length and is expected to be completed by 2009.

Due to continuous disputes over the site selection of the Ming Palace station, construction of the station has been delayed for a month.

"Luckily we have already prepared a construction plan for the NUAA site, and we will adjust the whole schedule to make up for lost time," said an official surnamed Zhang with the Nanjing Subway Construction Commanding Commission.

Although the ancient palace has now been saved from being divided, experts warned that more historic sites will be destroyed if attention is not paid.

"As a city with a history exceeding 2,700 years, ancient culture and modern construction are frequently in conflict," said Yi Zhiqiang, an official from the Nanjing Bureau of Cultural Relics.

For example, the No 2 metro line is expected to pass through six cultural relic areas in the city.

"Properly locating metro stations in order to avoid damage to ancient treasures will be a challenge," said Yi.

According to Yi, construction of the subway will be suspended if significant historic relics are discovered.

(China Daily August 2, 2006)