And at the same time, archaeologists and engineers are calling for better cooperation between each other to safeguard the past while building the future.

Experts say it is a good sign the country is paying more attention to conducting surveys and assessments on cultural and historic relics before designing new projects.

Taking the ongoing Three Gorges Project as an example, governments at central and local levels, as well as construction departments, have drawn up plans and allocated millions of dollars to rescue historic treasures in the dam area, such as the 1,700-year-old Zhangfei Temple and the ancient residential architecture from the Ming Dynasty's (1368-1644) Dachang Town.

However, archaeologists can hear the clock ticking as another epic development -- the South-to-North Water Diversion Project -- will endanger a huge number of cultural relics.

The project will divert water from the mighty Yangtze River through the eastern, central and western lines to solve water shortages in the country's northern areas.

Concern was voiced after the planned construction of the central line, where both the starting point of a reservoir and a stem channel boast thousands of ancient gems that are in danger.

"The cultural and historic relics around the central line are even greater than those of the Three Gorges in number and value," said Li Taoyuan, a research fellow at the Archaeology Research Institute of Hubei Province in Central China.

He said as the start of the project is just around the corner, there may not be enough time to save all of the heritage of the area.

As the source for the project's central line, Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Hanjiang River -- a main branch of the Yangtze -- is scheduled to be used to divert a large amount of water to the north.

With the water level rising from the current 157 meters to 170 meters in 2008, the submerged area will inundate many sites containing fossils of dinosaur eggs dating back 60 million years, human skeletons from the Old Stone Age 800,000 years ago and buildings from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), according to the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee, which is in charge of the central line design.

"Besides the reservoir, there are also many valuable cultural relics, such as ancient aristocratic tombs, spread around the stem channel of the central line," said Song Xinchao, vice-director of the Department for Protection of Cultural Heritage at the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

"In a period of rapid economic development and burgeoning construction, the responsibility of safeguarding and preserving the historic and cultural relics is of more importance because people can build many modern projects, but could never recreate the past.

"Cultural heritage protection departments should better cooperate with construction sectors, for ancient treasures are common wealth for all human beings," Song added.

Zhang Rongguo, vice-president of the designing institute at the water resources committee, said the blueprint for the project will take cultural and historic heritage recognized at State or provincial levels and by archaeologists into full consideration.

"However, there needs to be a balance between protection and construction because any detour of the line would cause much wasted water and the northern people are longing for water to live," Zhang said.

(China Daily December 10, 2002)