Sixteen "word bricks" from the Great Wall will be on display at its eastern end in north China's Hebei Province.

The bricks, inscribed with Chinese characters that record the wall's dates of construction and other historical information, will be displayed in a museum at the wall's eastern starting point.

The exhibit will open after Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, as the premiere exhibition of the newly renovated Great Wall Museum at Shanhaiguan Pass, but the exact time and ticket price have yet to be finalized, according to a museum official.

"Construction workers engraved the characters to record dates and distinguish sections," said Dong Yaohui, deputy president of the China Great Wall Society.

The bricks, about 40 by 20 by 10 centimeters in size, were found in Great Wall sections in both Beijing and Hebei, with most around the Shanhaiguan Pass.

The bricks shown mostly date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), with some even being dated to the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), Dong said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2005)