Sites included on the list are the Potala Palace in the Tibet Autonomous Region, a Buddha cave in Xinjiang, Genghis Khan's old capital in Ningxia, the capital of the Han Dynasty in Xi'an, and the Chinese Communist Party's former headquarters in Yan'an.

Zhang Wenbin, director of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, said that there are more than 2,200 important historical sites in the western region, and many of them are suffering from exposure.

"A massive restoration campaign will be launched to enable these sites to continue to exhibit Chinese civilization," he said.

He said that the bureau will cooperate with other central government departments such as the Finance Ministry to ensure the funding.

China is carrying out an ambitious plan to develop the poor western region composed of 12 provinces and autonomous regions. Many experts fear that infrastructure construction will have a disastrous effect on relics protection.

(People’s Daily 10/10/2000)