Xi'an market has Heritage ambition
Source: Xinhua |
November 4, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AUTHORITIES in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, are hoping the ruins of a 1,300-year-old market will be inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a landmark along the ancient Silk Road.
The West Market, known as the starting point of the famous trade route that linked Asia and Europe, had been included in the transnational application for the Silk Road and major historical sites along the route for the World Heritage list, said Lu Jianzhong, owner of Datang Xishi Museum, a privately run concern of the ancient market.
The joint application, by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, would be submitted to UNESCO in 2011, Lu said.
The market is one of the 48 nominees along the Chinese section of the 7,000-kilometer Silk Road for the application. Other sites include the ruins of ancient cities, temples, imperial mausoleums and grottoes in Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
As the starting point of the route, the West Market was an important heritage site for China and the world, said Michael Petzet, former president of the International Council of Monuments and Sites, who was in Xi'an for a forum on heritage preservation.
China's conservation of the West Market ruins was also exemplary, he said.
It is the first such site in China to be preserved with private funds. Lu hoped his museum would help excavate and preserve the market, dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).
Archaeologists believe most market buildings, are still buried under Xi'an.
The West Market, known as the starting point of the famous trade route that linked Asia and Europe, had been included in the transnational application for the Silk Road and major historical sites along the route for the World Heritage list, said Lu Jianzhong, owner of Datang Xishi Museum, a privately run concern of the ancient market.
The joint application, by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, would be submitted to UNESCO in 2011, Lu said.
The market is one of the 48 nominees along the Chinese section of the 7,000-kilometer Silk Road for the application. Other sites include the ruins of ancient cities, temples, imperial mausoleums and grottoes in Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
As the starting point of the route, the West Market was an important heritage site for China and the world, said Michael Petzet, former president of the International Council of Monuments and Sites, who was in Xi'an for a forum on heritage preservation.
China's conservation of the West Market ruins was also exemplary, he said.
It is the first such site in China to be preserved with private funds. Lu hoped his museum would help excavate and preserve the market, dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).
Archaeologists believe most market buildings, are still buried under Xi'an.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
