Taoping Qiang Stocked Village in Li County, Sichuan Province is the oldest one of its kind, and the only one still in perfect condition.
Millions of tourists have visited it since 2000, generating a profit of 60 million yuan for it.
The construction of Taoping Stocked Village started in the West Han Dynasty, 2,000 years ago. The whole village was constructed in the layout of the Eight Trigrams with eight walls and eight gates.
Thirty-one secret underpasses and nine 30-meter-tall fortresses (only two left today) made it an invulnerable stronghold in war.
The village was not only inpregnable in war, it was so scientifically designed and carefully built that no earthquake would ever shake it, which is a miracle even to modern architects.
Sichuan provincial government has decided to build a new village 500 hundred meters away from it, where it is planning to relocate at least 60% of the villagers to preserve this cultural heritage. All the shops will be moved to the new village, too.
Local government is also pulling down all the modern buildings in the village to restore it to its original appearance. The new village will be completed before October, and the relocation project will be finished then.
(Chinanews.cn August 15, 2006)
