The Chinese government launched an unprecedented "underwater
palace" project Thursday in a bid to protect Baiheliang, the
world's oldest water survey device which will be submerged once the
Three Gorges reservoir is filled.
Shan Jixiang, director of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, said
that Baiheliang, an 1.6 km-long massive reef important for
observing water level changes, will be covered by an elliptical
transparent shield so visitors in the future can still see it.
The massive project, which will cost 140 million yuan (US$16.9
million), is expected to be completed in 2005.
Shan said the project well reflects that the Chinese government
takes much responsibility for protecting cultural relics and China
always holds a careful attitude toward respecting history as well
as responsibility for both ancestors and offspring when conducting
the Three Gorges Project.
Located at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Baiheliang only
emerges from the water during dry seasons. Therefore, it was a very
important marker for ancestors to observe the changes of the water
level and according to it, they could predict if they could have a
good harvest.
On
the massive reef, there are more than 20 vivid fishery sculptures,
serving as the water level markers.
Meanwhile, about 30,000 characters of Chinese poems are also left
on the stone, which were carved by Chinese poets of different
dynasties.
The stone inscriptions on Baiheliang recorded about 1,200
consecutive years of the river's water levels during the dry
seasons as well as its low water periods.
However, similar water survey devices at other rivers of the world
only included the local water level information of less than 100
years. In comparison, the stone inscriptions on Baiheliang are much
more affluent than those discovered at the Nile River.
Therefore, Baiheliang has gained fame as "a miracle in world water
survey history." Engineers also consulted the water level
information on Baiheliang when designing the world's largest water
engineering project, the Three Gorges Project.
The massive Three Gorges Project, whose reservoir will begin to
store water this June, will inundate numerous cultural relic
sites.
To
ensure those precious cultural relics receive the best protection,
the Chinese government has mobilized two thirds of the country's
archaeological institutions to meet at the Three Gorges reservoir
area and excavate cultural relics.
Since 1994, China's cultural relics protection departments have
started to research how to protect Baiheliang. Experts once raised
several solutions, such as building an underwater museum, or
reproducing it and laying it on the bank but submerging the
original one.
Finally, the solution issued by Prof. Ge Xiurun, academician of the
Chinese Academy of
Engineering, was accepted.
He
suggested the covering of the Baiheliang reef by a water
pressure-free container with an arch shape. Fresh water will be
instilled in the container, making its inside and outside water
pressure balanced.
Two underwater channels will be built from the riverbanks, so
visitors can see the stone inscriptions on Baiheliang by walking
through the underwater channel.
Experts have made simulation tests via computer to ensure the water
pressure-free container is not damaged by silting and water
flow.
(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2003)