The ruins of the ancient gate in Tongzhou district Monday. Photo: Deng Jingyin/GT



Cultural heritage experts fear that the ruins of an ancient gate, unearthed during a construction project in Tongzhou district, may be damaged in misguided preservation efforts. 

According to the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, the ruins of the ancient east gate of Tongzhou, built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, were  discovered during the construction of Subway Line 6 and the redevelopment of the area near the Tongzhou canal.

It was originally reported that the ruins would be moved while construction was ongoing, then later put back on or near the original site.

But on Monday, Beijing cultural heritage administration announced the relics would be preserved on the original site.

"We have requested Tongzhou culture commission to well-preserve the relics, and properly deal with the contradiction between the area's development and heritage protection," a media officer from the administration said Monday.

Detailed plans for the site are under consideration, the officer said.

Workers at the subway construction site said the ruins were unearthed last year, and they received orders to stop construction on the site three months ago. But some people were still working on the site only a few meters away from the ruins on Monday.

He Shuzhong, founder of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP), said that the ruins are rare and important cultural resources for Tongzhou, which can bring added tourism value to the district.

"The ruins are treasures on earth, so how to well protect and find out its cultural potential should be important issues to consider, both for the government and the public," He said.

"As an NGO, our focus is on whether the local people are willing to change the current situation. Without calls from the public and oversight from the media, the future of the relics would be a disaster," he noted.

Remains of the ancient constructions can be obviously seen at the site, including dilapidated walls, paved roads with stones and a stone tablet with delicate engraving.

However, there were no protection measures, and anyone can easily enter the site without any obstruction.

Treasure hunters were combing the diggings for ancient coins with metal detectors. They had already found more than 20 coins at the site by 3 pm Monday afternoon, one of the hunters said.

The reporter was ordered to leave the site by construction company staff while trying to arrange an interview with the staff at the site office.

The plan to preserve the ruins in situ is better than the relocation scheme originally considered, said He, but the best solution, in his opinion, is to move the subway station westward, away from the site.

Calls to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning and Tongzhou culture commission went unanswered Monday.