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The project to restore the ancient city of Shanhaiguan, part of the World Heritage, officially started this August in the Shanhaiguan District of Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province. Shanhaiguan Pass, which gained fame as the "First Pass of the Great Wall," is located in this city.

 

Experts will first carry out protective restoration mainly on the Pass itself, stretching for 6,236 meters. Some 719.83 million yuan (US$90.57 million) will be invested into the project.

 

The first part of the project, accounting for 310 million yuan (US$39 million), will be used to conserve and renovate the badly damaged city wall, including restoring its former main structure and annexes, consolidating the platforms and repairing the inside of the wall with work expected to finish in 2008. The other part of the fund will be invested into repairing the 8-km stretch of wall from Laolongtou (Old Dragon's Head) to the Jiaoshan Section, expected to meet the end before 2012.

 

Shanhaiguan District and Shanhaiguan Pass

 

Shanhaiguan is a small, sleepy town and a northern port on the Bohai gulf, being the gateway between northeast China and north China. Shanhaiguan Pass, 15 kilometers from the tourist city of Qinhuangdao, got its name from being situated between the Yanshan Mountains and the Bohai Sea.

 

Built in 583, it was renovated throughout various dynasties until it was transformed into a formidable military stronghold during the Ming Dynasty. As the strategic passage between north and northeast China, this pass has formed a bone of contention for military strategists since the ancient times. It is also considered the defensive key to two ancient capitals – Beijing in the east and Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) in the west. It is now a national tourist attraction at the eastern end of the Great Wall.

 

Shanhaiguan Pass consists of a main castle, two supporting turrets – one to the north and one to the south, with two semicircular protective walls in front of the main castle. The compound extends to the towns of Weiyuan and Ninghai.

 

Most of these structures are still well-preserved, while others, such as the wall of Ninghai Town, the Calm Sea Tower and the Laolongtou, where the Great Wall meets the sea, have been restored.

 

The brick wall of the pass, stuffed with earth, stands 14 meters high, seven meters wide and measures four kilometers in circumference. It is connected with the Great Wall stretching onto the rolling Yanshan Mountains to the north and into the Bohai Sea to the south with parts and battlements that form a strong and powerful defense system. The Gate Tower now houses an exhibition of ancient military uniforms and weapons including a saber that weighs 83 kilos, the heaviest in the country.

 

Future Shanhaiguan to show Ming, Qing Dynasties building styles

 

Having experienced cumulative damage from wars and natural erosion, the once famed ancient city has lost much of its charm. Parts of the city wall have been badly damaged and the old ordinary houses are not in good condition.

 

To protect the ancient city, Hebei Province has set up its No. 1 cultural project to invest over 2 billion yuan (US$252 million) for the city's renewal. Up till now, 800 million yuan (US$100 million) has been invested in rebuilding the city's Bell Tower, the southern Wangyanglou, western Ying'enlou and northern Fuyuanlou gates.

 

The Great Wall Museum has been renovated and a city's folk customs museum is newly built. Over 50 cultural relics and well-reserved folk houses have been protected. When the restoration is complete, the whole city will present a typical ancient Ming and Qing Dynasties building style.

 

The Shanhaiguan District set up a special archaeological committee for excavating and collecting the immaterial cultural heritage. The experts have undertaken great research on the Great Wall's history, its folk tales and ancient military ceremonies. Till now, they have accomplished the drafts for a book series known as Shanhaiguan Pictorial Handbook, Shanhaiguan Legends and a series about local people's life stories and contributions.

 

Local residents resettle in a new living area

 

Liu Deyou, the board chairman of Shanhaiguan Ancient City Protection and Exploration Co. Ltd., said the most urgent and important thing is to resettle the local residents.

 

According to the scheme, 51 percent of local residents will need to be relocated to new accommodation. The new living district will cover a total land of over 130 hectares. About 17 administrative departments, six enterprises, and eight schools and kindergartens will also be moved there.

 

The other 49 percent of residents will have their dwelling conditions improved with the help of the local government.

 

(China.org.cn by Staff Reporter Zhou Jing, September 16, 2006)