The Ma'anshan-Dangtu section of the planned Nanjing-Wuhu expressway, which will link eastern China's Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, will cut through the mausoleum of Li Bai, one of the most famous ancient Chinese poets, and the Green Hill Forest Park. For saving money, the planners have abandoned their former blueprint which formulates that the expressway passes by the west of the Green Hill Forest Park, leaving Li's tomb untouched. The shortcut in their present scheme will save them a certain amount of money, with which they plan to upgrade a particular section of the highway.
Also known as Li Bo, Li Bai (701-762) is one of the greatest and best-loved Chinese poets. He lived a legendary life during the golden time of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Only a small proportion -- about 2, 000 poems -- out of Li Bai's vast output remains today. He died of illness at Dangtu in present-day Anhui Province.
The planners’ decision has stirred up great concern and worry among intellectuals and people in the relic-protection circle in Ma’anshan and surrounding cities in Anhui Province.
According to an expert in Nanjing, Li Bai's mausoleum and the Green Forest Park form an integrity of cultural interest and natural attraction in the area and it's quite famous all over the world. Besides this tomb, the only well-preserved mausoleum of an ancient Chinese intellectual is that of the Sage Doctor Zhang Zhongjing of the Han Dynasty, which is located in Nanyang, Henan Province. Shortly after Li Bai's death over 1,200 years ago, Fan Chuanzheng, a local official in charge of today's Xuancheng and Huangshan, moved Li Bai's remains from its original burying place at the foot of the Dragon Hill to the present site beside the Green Hill Forest Park. The relocation was done according to the poet's words "I am pleased by the Green Hill of the Xie family." The Green Hill Forest will lose its color while Li Bai’s mausoleum will lose its nimbus if they are separated, said a landscape engineer in Nanjing.
According to some experts, the present plan of the Dangtu (a county under the jurisdiction of the Ma'anshan City) part of the Nanjing-Wuhu expressway violates the Framework of Urban Planning of the Ma'anshan City and runs against the principles issued by the Ministry of Construction for protecting cultural relics and scenic spots.
Nevertheless, construction of this highway has started. It's reported that workers are now pulling down buildings on the planned route to make way for the expressway; meanwhile, people concerned about the issue and relevant departments are continuing their efforts in protecting the invaluable cultural relics. It's hoped that the Ma'anshan municipal government will ask the government of Anhui Province to change the route of the expressway.
(By Zhengshi, 新华日报 [Xinhua Daily], translated by Chen Chao for china.org.cn, August 2, 2002)
