HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS BRIEFS

Briefs | China Heritage Quarterly

THE CONFUCIANISM PROJECT

On 22 December 2005, a press conference at Peking University launched a massive project to produce the first Ru zang (translated as 'The Complete Works on Confucianism', rather than 'The Confucian Canon'). Those attending the press conference were presented with the first volume of the publishing project. Envisaged as a trial publication by Peking University Press, the first volume of Ru zang brings together authoritative editions, many from Japanese libraries, of five texts of Lunyu (The Analects), as edited and annotated by He Yan, Huang Kan, Xing Rui, Zhu Xi and Kang Youwei. Attending the launch at Peking University were scholars and influential persons, as well as representatives of the party's Propaganda Department, the Press and Publications Office, and the Ministry of Education. The latter is jointly funding the project with Peking University, to the tune of RMB 1m yuan annually. The editorial board, headed by Professor Tang Yijie of Peking University, will bring together contributions by 300 scholars from 25 tertiary institutions on the mainland. The board aims to compile a bibliography of approximately 10,000 titles by 2007, and to have completed the project, which will assemble approximately 5,000 works, by 2020. All entries will be digitised, re-punctuated and re-edited, a methodology criticised for its potential to introduce errors and new interpretations. The committee states that the collection will include 'foreign' writings on Confucianism.

Confucianism and related issues have been highlighted increasingly in the mainland media, signalling a current enthusiasm among some circles in the People's Republic. This trend is exemplified by Jiang Qing, a scholar from Shenzhen, and Kang Xiaoguang, a policy adviser of former Premier Zhu Rongji and a researcher at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who argue that the ancient Chinese philosophy should form the nation's guiding ethical system. This was previously attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, in China in the 1910s (when there was talk of creating a state-sponsored kongjiao or 'Confucian Religion'), as well as in the 1930s, and much more recently in Singapore, and to a lesser extent in South Korea and Taiwan.

The 2,556th 'birthday' of Confucius, said to have fallen on 28 September 2005, was also commemorated with greater fanfare than usual in Qufu, Shandong province, the ancient base of the Kong lineage and home to the Confucius clan's mortuary. During the celebrations a workshop called for the revival of the tradition of memorised recitation of the Confucian Four Books and Five Classics, according to a Xinhua report of 27 September, underscoring the publication by the Ministry of Education in May 2004 of a ten-volume set of recitation primers of Confucian texts selected and edited by Jiang Qing.

CHINA ISLAMIC SCRIPTURAL COLLEGE CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Seminars marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of the China Islamic Scriptural College in Beijing, Xinhua reported on 6 December 2005. According to Chen Guangyuan, president of the Islamic Association of China, the college shoulders the task of training China's Islamic "religious staff and its development is also linked to the future of China's Islamic community". Since its founding in 1955, only 1,064 Muslim students of various ethnic minorities have graduated from the college.

PRINCE GONG'S MANSION UNDERGOES EXTENSIVE RENOVATIONS

On 5 December 2005, Xinhua reported, extensive repairs and renovations began at the mansion of Prince Gong (Gong wangfu), the largest and best-preserved of Beijing's 60 princely mansions dating from the Qing dynasty. The long delayed renovation project will cost RMB 480 million yuan and is expected to be completed by September 2007. The article did not make it clear whether that sum also included allocations for the restitution of some of the items removed from the mansion, a much discussed project this year. A national museum and research centre on the 'culture' of Qing princely residences will both be established in the complex, replacing the present displays.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND RESTORATION WORK TOGETHER

On 5 December 2005, Xinhua reported that archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences had identified the site of Danfeng Men (Vermillion Phoenix Gate) of Daming Palace, the largest imperial architectural complex of the Tang dynasty (618-907), in Xi'an. Constructed in the year 662, Danfeng Men was one of five palace gates, at variance with ancient conventions governing palace construction stipulating that a palace have either one or three gates. The excavation at the site began in September.

The Xi'an Department of Cultural Heritage has begun to clear houses on the site of the former Daming Palace, in preparation for restoring the Hanyuan, Linde and Sanqing Halls, the palace gates and an imperial road. A large park is also planned for the 3.5 sq km palace site the size of which rivalled that of Yuanming Yuan, the destroyed Qing dynasty garden palace in Beijing's north-west. The Daming Palace site was first excavated in 1959 and placed under state protection in 1961.

It was reported in September that the government of Xi'an has earmarked RMB 20 million yuan for planting trees and dismantling 'illegal structures' adjacent to the ruins.

ANCIENT INSCRIBED IVORIES AUCTIONED

On 27 November 2005, Beijing Red Sun International Auction Company sold off eleven ivory slips inscribed with ancient characters. The auction house claims that the owner had these 'family heirlooms' dated by Nanjing University's Geography Research Institute using carbon-14 technology, and that an approximate dating of 6,760 years BP resulted. Lei Congyun, a former director of the Chinese Cultural Relics Exchange Centre under the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) authenticated the ivory slips for the auction company and said that they were 'probably' inscribed during the Shang or Zhou dynasties. It is not clear why such archaic inscriptions, the first found on elephant ivory rather than tortoise shells or animal bones, are not regarded as Grade One national treasures. Beijing Red Sun auctioned the items for RMB 58 million yuan in Yancheng, Jiangsu province.

The appearance of inscribed oracle bones at antique auctions over the past two years is part of an unsettling trend, given the significance of such inscriptions for conducting research on the origins of the Chinese written language, a much publicised major research project awaiting final funding from the State Council. At its Beijing autumn auctions (4-7 November 2005), the Guardian Auction Company offered a lot of 98 inscribed oracle bones of the Shang dynasty on which were incised approximately 500 archaic Chinese characters. The auction company stated that some of these characters have never been seen before, recognized or even illustrated by scientists to date, and that they provide for scholars several new names and toponyms, as well as terms for 'imperial' activities. "The collection could help recreate the history of the Shang dynasty," a spokesperson for Guardian stated. If auctioned these items may well disappear into a private collection, making authentication difficult.

GREAT WALL SOCIETY SOLICITS PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTISE

Xinhua News Agency reported on 29 November 2005 that the Great Wall Society, a conservation group, has joined forces with the 'scenic administration bureau' overseeing the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing in a campaign to raise public awareness of the urgent need for the conservation of the Wall. Dong Huiyao, vice-president of the Great Wall Society of China, pointed out that the Great Walls of China "face unprecedented devastation due to natural weathering, graffiti and improper construction." The society is canvassing suggestions from individuals and organisations regarding methods for the removal of graffiti. Although the 629 km section of the Great Wall in Beijing municipality is protected by a municipal regulation that went into effect on 1 August 2003, the State Council is still drafting a regulation to protect the entire Great Wall, a World Heritage site, which it hopes will take effect in 2006.

In December it was reported that the Beijing Capital General Aviation Co. donated a helicopter to the Great Wall Society to assist it in monitoring the Great Wall complexes.

FRENCH TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CHINESE MUSEUM PROFESSIONALS

In late November 2005, Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts and the French National Research Institute of Cultural Properties in Paris announced a joint seminar program to train more than 200 Chinese museum professionals, including curators from the National Museum of China and the Palace Museum. The lecturers—from the University of Paris, the Louvre and the Lille Museum of Modern Art—will introduce European practices of museum management, fund-raising, collection acquisition and conservation.

WORLD HERITAGE CERTIFICATES AWARDED

On 28 November 2005, at a ceremony in Beijing, UNESCO presented certificates denoting world heritage status for a number of Chinese historic sites successful in their bids over the last two years to be included on that organization's World Heritage List. The sites are: the historic centre of Macao (a composite listing that comprises more than 20 buildings); the capital cities and tombs of the ancient Koguryo kingdom (for which the DPRK, North Korea, received a parallel listing); and, the imperial mausoleums dedicated to the first and second emperors and two empresses of the Qing dynasty, as well as to the ancestors of the Qing emperors, all in Shenyang, together with the Qing Imperial Palace, also in that city. These three listings bring to 31 the number of Chinese sites on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage list, making China the third most successful country in applying for World Heritage listings after Italy and Spain.

TWO CHINESE MUSICAL FORMS RECEIVE UNESCO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE LISTING

On 23 November 2005, UNESCO announced 43 new additions to the world's intangible cultural heritage. Two were from China—the art of the Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam, and the 'pastoral songs' of the Mongols, although the latter was a joint application of China and the Republic of Mongolia. Although China and the DPRK both have listings for the Koguryo sites, these were separate, and rival, applications. The Sino-Mongolian application is the first joint application to which China has been party.

UNESCO has now listed 90 masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, since listings honouring oral expressions and traditions, music and dance, ritual and mythology, knowledge and practices about nature and universe, and traditional crafts began in 1998.

In its application for listing the Xinjiang Muqam, the Chinese Ministry of Culture announced it had drawn up a ten-year plan to protect this musical performance genre. The plan envisages the establishment of between 10 and 20 study centres to train professional researchers, as well as providing encouragement for local troupes in Xinjiang to perform Muqam, and "introducing the Muqam form into the national artistic education system." The ministry announced that it will establish a research centre, database, website and museum dedicated to the Muqam.

ANCIENT 'ROMAN GLASS' DISCOVERED IN TOMB

On 20 November 2005, Xinhua News Agency reported the discovery in an Eastern Jin dynasty tomb in Anhui province of what are believed to be examples of Roman glass. Located in Zhulong village in Dangtu county, the tomb is also reported to have yielded a gold bracelet, a silver ring, a bronze bowl and examples of porcelain. The 'Roman glass' is being analyzed at the China University of Science and Technology in Hefei, Anhui province.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK TO BE WOUND UP IN THREE GORGES DAM AREA

Xinhua reported on 15 and 17 November that the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) had convened a conference in Zhengzhou to mobilise as many archaeologists as possible from China's 51 archaeological institutes to complete excavations in the Three Gorges Dam project area, where time is running out. SACH is planning to begin re-deploying Chinese archaeologists to rescue excavation projects in areas that will be inundated by another monumental hydraulic project, the south-north water diversion project. The latter is expected to begin transferring water from the water-rich south to the arid north in 2007 through eastern China, and many cultural sites, including vital neolithic and sites of early Chinese civilisation as well as sections of the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, will be inundated. In Henan province, all archaeological work, other than the ongoing excavations at the Yinxu site, will be suspended.

A team comprising four ministerial agencies recently completed an archaeological survey in the area projected for inundation and located 788 cultural sites that required protection or excavation. The central government has initially invested RMB 50 million yuan in 45 major cultural sites in the affected areas and more funds are promised, according to an official from the Water Resources Ministry. To ensure that this archaeological work is conducted properly, SACH has ordered all archaeological institutes across the country to assist. "Archaeological excavations covering more than 200,000 sq m will commence in 2006," according to Lu Shengfang, director of the department of policy and regulation under the office responsible for the south-north water diversion project.

TRADITIONAL EASTERN CIVILISATION AND GLOBALISATION

More than 110 Harvard-Yenching alumni from at least 30 educational and research institutes in China, the USA and South Korea attended an international symposium titled 'Eastern Civilization in the Process of Globalization' at Peking University from November 13 to 14. Plenary speeches were delivered by three prominent academics: philosophers Tu Wei-ming (Harvard) and Tang Yijie (Peking University), and the archaeologist Xu Pingfang (CASS). Among the topics addressed at the symposium was 'Public Policy and East Asian Cultural Heritage.'

ANCIENT SUTRAS DESTROYED IN FLOODED ARCHIVES

Xinhua News Agency reported on 15 November 2005 that cracked heating pipes caused flooding in the archives of the Minzu Gong (Palace of Nationalities) in Beijing's Xidan area. Damaged objects included Tibetan carpets and blankets presented to the central government in the 1950s, but of major concern is the fate of more than 20,000 traditional thread-bound and other ancient books, including a 300-year-old wood block edition of the Buddhist Canon, one of only three in China. Curators estimate that between 45,000 and 60,000 pages of the Buddhist scripture were ruined during the accident, with some pages damaged beyond repair. The Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage has pointed out that the accident highlights the woeful preservation conditions to be found in 70 per cent of the capital's museums.

CHINA: THE THREE EMPERORS, 1662-1795
EXHIBITION OPENS IN LONDON

On 12 November 2005, an exhibition of 400 imperial objects, drawn mostly from the collection of the Palace Museum, opened to the public in the Royal Academy of the Arts, London. During the exhibition's opening week, there was a series of related events staged by The British Museum, Olympia, Christie's, Bonhams, Sotheby's, Shanghai Tang and the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University. The exhibition, curated by Jessica Rawson of Merton College, Oxford University, will run until April 2006.

2,000-YEAR-OLD HAIRPIECE UNEARTHED IN SICHUAN

At the end of October and in early November 2005, an archaeological team led by Sichuan University unearthed 11 tombs in Sikai, Zhaojue county, located in the Liangshan area of Sichuan province. The rectangular tombs, believed to be roughly two thousand years old, are constructed of slate. Such burials are unique to the area and, although the identity of the tomb owners remains a mystery, some scholars assume that they belong to ancestors of the Yi people who still inhabit the area today. Among the discoveries were the remains of a periwig made of hemp fibre, found adorning one of the skeletons, as well as earthenware pots, several bronze items and three wooden rings decorated with delicate patterns.

CHINA SETS STANDARDS OF INDUSTRIAL VIBRATIONS DAMAGE ON ANCIENT BUILDINGS

China is attempting to establish standards for regulating excessive vibration in the vicinity of heritage sites. On 7 November 2005, Xinhua News Agency reported the conclusion of a 4-year project monitoring stress levels to which ancient monuments were subjected. The experiment was conducted by Pan Fulan, a leading expert in the field of environmental vibration and director of a project for establishing noise-level standards commissioned by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. The survey revealed that a number of historic sites, including Dayan Pagoda in Liuhe Pagoda in Hangzhou, and Jietai Temple in Beijing, have been damaged by industrial vibrations. Some sites are also threatened by nearby flight paths and subways.

CHINESE CONTRIBUTION TO ANGKOR WAT RESTORATION

Addressing the 15th General Assembly of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) held between 17 and 21 October in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Jiang Huaiying, a senior architect from the China Research Institute of the Protection of Cultural Relics, highlighted his team's work since 1997 reconstructing Chau Say Tevoda temple at Angkor in Cambodia. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006.

In 1992, Angkor was proclaimed a World Heritage Site, and teams from more than ten countries have since been working on the restoration of the Hindu and Buddhist architecture, with guidance from UNESCO. In 1993, the Chinese Government decided to help Cambodia by restoring part of the Angkor site, but the project was delayed until 1997 due to social unrest.

Chau Say Tevoda had been devastated after centuries of natural erosion, and all that remained were 4,000 pieces of stone masonry that had rolled down a slope into a river. The project has been controversial. The Chinese approach—one of total restoration or reconstruction of the building—was anathema to the teams from the USA and Japan, who are opposed to total reconstruction, but conformed to the UNESCO and ICOMOS guidelines that allow for the inclusion of between 2 per cent and 9 per cent of modern replica stones in heritage reconstruction.

5,000-YEAR-OLD NECKLACE UNEARTHED IN HENAN

At the beginning of November, Xinhua News Agency reported the discovery of an unusual white proto-porcelain necklace at the Nanwa neolithic site in Junzhao village, near Dengfeng in Henan province. This Yangshao culture site is dated to between 4,000 to 5,000 years BP. The site has the largest quantity of white proto-porcelain found at a neolithic site, and Zhang Guoshuo, professor of archaeology at Zhengzhou University, was quoted as saying that there was probably a white porcelain workshop at the site.

SMALL TEMPLE DISCOVERED IN THE TAKLIMAKAN DESERT

A 1,500 year old Buddhist shrine, designated the Topluqdun temple, was discovered on the southern rim of the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang, Xinhua News Agency reported on 1 November. The shrine is located approximately seven km from Damagou town in Cele township. The daub and timber structure, measuring 2.25 m in length and 2 m in width, contains frescoes illustrating scriptural stories and a Buddha figure, which is 0.65 cm in height. At the middle of the northern section of the shrine stand other Buddha figures, with broad shoulders and narrow waists. The discovery was made by a local herdsmen and the site later visited by members of the Xinjiang Archaeological Team of the Archaeology Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Wu Xinhua, head of the team, estimates that the shrine dates from the time of the Yutian Buddhist kingdom.

THE SCHOOL OF GUOXUE OPENS AT PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY

Chinese People's University, which today goes by the less proletarian English name of the Renmin University of China, has enrolled the first 58 students in its comprehensive school of Guoxue ('National Studies', or 'Sinology'). A Xinhua News Agency report of 22 October announced that there has been much debate on the form this particular version of 'Sinology' will take. Although Guoxue had a long and contested history during the 20th century, today the term is used as a general term for traditional Chinese culture and learning, which includes philosophy, literature, art, medicine and mathematics, Ji Baocheng, the president of Renmin University, was quoted as saying that "the School of Guoxue has been founded to promote cultural heritage and people's confidence in traditional culture." Tu Wei-ming, the director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, was also reported by Xinhua to have said that "Guoxue should not be disregarded, since without a good knowledge of history, a person cannot fully understand his or her own culture and situation." Sun Jiazhou, the school's vice dean, stated that the school will employ computer data processing and analysis, as well as mathematical modelling, to conduct comparative and interdisciplinary studies in Chinese and Western culture.

WORLD'S EARLIEST OBSERVATORY DISCOVERED

On 30 October 2005, Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese archaeologists had identified a structure at the 4,000 year old Taosi neolithic site in Xiangfen county, Shanxi province, as an astronomical observatory. The 'observatory' is a rammed earth, semicircular platform comprising three arcs. The inner semicircular area is 40 m in diameter, thus having a radius of 20 m, and is set with 13 stone pillars at least four metres in height, while the outer semicircle has a radius of 30 m. According to He Nu, a research fellow at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS IA), this would qualify the remains as "the world's oldest known observatory." He Nu presented his hypothesis in a paper at the recent seminar on the Taosi site held under the auspices of CASS IA.

CONSTRUCTION OF 1,400-YEAR-OLD BRIDGE CELEBRATED

On 27 October 2005, Xinhua reported that Zhaoxian county, Hebei province, is planning a week of activities to commemorate the 1,400th anniversary of the construction of its best-known monument, Anji Bridge, also known as Zhaozhou Bridge, "the best preserved one-arch bridge with the longest history and the largest span in the world", according to Zhang Junwei, deputy head of Zhaoxian county. The bridge is 64.4 m in length and its arch has a span of 37.02 m.

CULTURAL PARK FOR MUSLIM HUI NATIONALITY OPENS

China Hui Culture Park in Yinchuan, Ningxia, received more than 20,000 visitors during its first month of operations, according to a report from Xinhua News Agency of 25 October 2005. The theme park, which covers 20 ha of land, is intended to showcase the Muslim lifestyle of the Hui ethnic group numbering more than two million people in Ningxia. The park contains a museum of Hui culture, a hall for 'Hui rituals', and miniatures of famous mosques in China.

ICOMOS MEETING IN XI'AN

The 15th General Assembly of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a non-government organisation under the auspices of UNESCO, held in Xi'an during 17-21 October, was given extensive media coverage in China. Michael Petzet, president of ICOMOS, attended the assembly, the theme of which was 'Monuments and sites in their setting: Conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and landscapes.' More than 1,000 delegates from around the world participated in the conference, submitting more than 500 papers on issues related to heritage protection.

Michael Petzet lent his voice to the school of thought in China opposed to the excavation of the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang. Chinese and German archaeologists attending the meeting announced that they had detected a large quantity of coins at the mausoleum site using magnetic prospecting technology, and so speculated that the location might be the 'state treasury' in the 'underground palace'. The central tumulus area of the mausoleum is approximately 2.13 km in width. Together with about 181 accompanying tombs, the mausoleum covers about 60 sq km.

Other Chinese archaeological and heritage issues were addressed at the conference. Zhang Wei, director of the China National Museum's Submarine Archaeology Research Centre, called for the listing of the protection of heritage as part of the country's overall ocean development strategy, and argued that "China should join the Joint Pledge of Submarine Cultural Heritage as soon as possible and seek international co-operation to halt the plunder of underwater relics." Other delegates suggested that China establish a protection and monitoring network for its underwater cultural heritage.

Shan Jixiang, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, also called for international cooperation, when stating that China intends to make joint efforts with relevant countries to press for the listing of the Silk Road as a World Heritage site. Shan said such a listing would require the cooperation of least ten nations, unprecedented in all previous UNESCO listing applications. Jing Feng, a Chinese official with UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, said the World Heritage Committee encourages international co-operation, and that five countries in Central Asia have already expressed their support for the inclusion of the Silk Road on the list. However, he added that the logistics of the application could take a long time, suggesting that the countries concerned first establish a group to research and co-ordinate the application.

Speaking at the assembly's opening ceremony, Sun Jiazheng, the Chinese Minister of Culture, claimed that the Chinese Government had spared no efforts in protecting heritage and the environment through laws, regulations and investment.

1,700-YEAR-OLD TOMB COMPLEX DISCOVERED IN ZHEJIANG

Xinhua News Agency reported, on 18 October 2005, the excavation of a tomb in Dongqiao township, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, which is part of a recently discovered tomb complex dating from the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). The tomb, measuring 5 m in length, has carved wall illustrations including typical motifs such as fish, beasts, dragons, phoenixes and coins. An inscription reveals that the tomb was completed in the year 256. The entire graveyard area covers an area of 5,000 sq m, within which archaeologists believe there are at least five other ancient tombs clustered near the first excavated example.

NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS AT LOULAN SITE

On 8 October 2005, Xinhua News Agency presented a report on the latest finds at the Loulan city site in Xinjiang. Wang Binghua, the leader of the most recent archaeological expedition in Loulan, was quoted as saying that the new discoveries indicate that there were human activities in the area prior to the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE), when Loulan city became the political and cultural centre of the Lop Nur Lake area.

HERITAGE CONSERVATION LINKED TO FIVE-YEAR PLAN

During the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-05), the central government invested a total of RMB 2,200 million yuan on cultural heritage protection, 20.5 per cent more than the investment in the previous Five-Year Plan, the deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Zhang Bei, was quoted as saying, by Xinhua News Agency on 7 October 2005.

On 22 September, People's Daily reported that Zhang announced that China will spend RMB 250 million yuan annually on protection projects for large-scale ancient sites throughout the country. The protection projects plan was drawn up by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

UYGHUR LEXICOGRAPHER'S MILLENARIAN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED

On 4 October, a seminar was held in Kashgar to mark the millenarian anniversary of the birth of the Uyghur scholar Mahmoud al-Kashghari, who compiled Diwan Lughat at-Turk, a key text for research into Turkic history, geography, art and tradition in Xinjiang and throughout the Turkic world. Mahmoud al-Kashghari compiled the dictionary when living in Baghdad, but his newly restored tomb is located in his hometown, Kashgar.

TANG DYNASTY FEMALE MUMMY DISCOVERED IN XINJIANG

A well preserved Tang dynasty female mummy was discovered in Xinjiang's Tumshuq area on the north-western perimeter of the Taklimakan Desert, according to an article in the late September issue of the weekly Beijing Sci-tech Report, a supplement of Beijing Youth News. The corpse, shrouded in fine silk, is the best-preserved mummy discovered in Xinjiang to date, and is in an area where few mummies have been previously found.

QING DYNASTY GUILD HALL COMPLEX RE-OPENS IN CHONGQING

On 29 September 2005, Xinhua News Agency announced that the Huguang Guild Halls, the largest complex of its type in China, reopened to the public, after being closed for an eighteen-month period of extensive renovations. The Guild Hall, located in Chongqing's Yuzhong district, comprises a number of 300-year-old buildings, as well as several new buildings in a traditional style. Covering more than 12,000 sq m, the complex contains a new museum documenting what is called 'the great migration' of the early-Qing period, when China's new Manchu rulers ordered three million residents to migrate from the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi and Jiangxi to settle in and develop Sichuan.