Demolished village at center of public interest suit
Print Edition
A village which was razed to ground to make room for an industrial park is at the center of China鈥檚 first public interest lawsuit on the preservation of historic relics.
Zhengzhou Intermediate People鈥檚 Court in central China鈥檚 Henan Province is to hear the case brought by the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation.
The villagers鈥 committee is accused of tearing down the village, while the Xiawo Township government, Shangjie District government and the district鈥檚 culture administrative authority showed a lack of supervision, the foundation said.
Magu village has been the home of the Wang family for more than 1,000 years, with ancestors formerly high-ranking imperial officials.
In 2006, two well-preserved pots were excavated in the village. Made in Tang Dynasty (618-907), they are said to be the earliest and finest qinghua (blue and white) porcelain in China.
In a nationwide survey on cultural relics from 2007 to 2011, seven sites in the village were listed as unremovable relics.
However, in April last year, the 33-hectare village was demolished in just 20 days and villagers forced to abandon their homes.
Only two temples were left standing.
The foundation is seeking a public apology, protection for the two temples, the rebuilding of five historic sites and the construction of a museum.
Shortly after the demolition, culture officials defended their actions.
In a statement, they said that most houses in the village were built in the 1960s and 70s, and had little cultural or historic value.
Only one of the temples, which was over 100 years old, was protected while the other sites were too dilapidated to be saved.
But 70-year-old Wang Dean said: 鈥淭he two temples stand in the ruins. We can鈥檛 guard them because we don鈥檛 have electricity and water supply there.鈥
He also said items dating back to the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) had disappeared.
鈥淧reviously, about 20,000 to 30,000 members of the Wang family would come every tomb-sweeping day. But this year, the number dropped to 3,000.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
