Beijing will earmark 148 million yuan (US$18.9 million) next
year to renovate ancient buildings in scenic parks as part of its
efforts to prepare for the 2008 Olympics in this Chinese capital.
The maintenance work will be carried out in 11 parks, including
the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven, two UNESCO World Heritage sites, according to Liu Ying,
deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Administration Center of
Parks.
The renovation will cover floor repair, retouching of colored
drawings, and improvements on lightning strike and fire prevention
facilities, Liu said.
Repair work on the Summer Palace buildings will begin next March
and be completed prior to Oct. 1 next year, the beginning of annual
weeklong National Day holidays during which parks host a booming
number of tourists, according to Liu.
Beijing has over 160 registered parks, some of them on the
UNESCO Heritage list boasting well-preserved buildings dating back
centuries, or even millennia. They are main attractions for
tourists to Beijing.
To better serve the 2008 Olympic Games, the city has poured
about 300 million yuan (US$38.4 million) into maintenance work on
its cultural heritage spots, according to the city's cultural
heritage administration sources.
Maintenance work on the Great Wall, the Imperial Tombs of the
Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), and the Beijing Man Site in
Zhoukoudian are already underway.
Renovation work on the Buddhist Incense Tower at the Summer
Palace, the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvest at the Temple of
Heaven, and the Qiongdao Islet in Beihai Park was completed this
year at a cost of 140 million yuan (US$17.7 million).
(Chinaculture.org December 4, 2006)
