New rules to protect Terracotta Warriors
By Ma Lie (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-01 15:55

The Protection Rules for Qinshihuang Mausoleum, a special local law, is meant to improve measures to safeguard its over 2,000-year heritage, including the famous Terracotta Warriors.

"Drafted by the provincial government and approved by the Shaanxi Provincial Standing Committee of the People's Congress on July 30, the 29-item rule establishes the extent of protection over the mausoleum and the protection of artifacts and the construction control area," Shaanxi Deputy Governor Zhao Dequan said.

It is the first regulation of its kind, and is especially significant in safeguarding the cultural heritage in Shaanxi, where 72 emperors' mausoleums and a number of large-scale ancient sites are located, said Chen Xianqi, an official with the Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The Qinshihuang Mausoleum and nearby Terracotta Warriors and horses located in an eastern suburb of Xi'an, Shaanxi's capital were built for Emperor Qinshihuang, founder of China's feudal dynasty. The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) was named after him. These sites, placed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1987, receive more than 2 million visitors every year.

"With the mausoleum at the centre, a large number of relics of various kinds that are of high quality and historically significance and have both scientific and artistic value have been unearthed from the area of 56 square kilometres, but protection within the site is far from adequate," Chen said.

Without protection regulations, illegal construction and excavation work with explosives from industrial development and urban expansion threaten the tomb and related relics.

The rules set concrete standards to help protect the mausoleum and its architectural style more effectively, and the new rules can also help protect other large ancient ruins, Chen said.

"The new rules highlight the status of this world heritage site and establish a legal protection system for the Qinshihuang Mausoleum, and also show the progress of China's legislative work," said Pang Bo, a professor at Northwest Law University.

Xi'an officials have also said preparations are going smoothly for the 15th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), which the city will host on October 17-21.

"It is the largest and most prestigious international meeting ever held in Xi'an," said Qiao Zheng, vice-mayor of Xi'an who is in charge of preparations. "We will make every effort to ensure it is the best and most successful possible meeting."

The local government has spent more than 10 million yuan (US$1.23 million), Qiao said, and about 70 local officials have been working to prepare the main conference site.

About 20,000 police officers will also be on duty during the conference, Qiao said.

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