Dachang, an ancient town hiding in the hinterland of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River for thousands of years, has been disrupted of its usual quietness.

A red line, reading "submerging line marking 143 meters," has been painted on the ancient city wall, indicating that Dachang, with the largest number of ancient buildings in the Three Gorges reservoir area, will be inundated when water storage at the Three Gorges Dam begins, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chinese cultural relics protection department will launch an ambitious plan to move the whole town to a new site with a total investment of 30 million yuan (US$3.6 million).

"This will be a magnificent feat in the history of ancient building protection," said Liu Yuchuan, an official of Chongqing Municipal Leading Group on Cultural Relics Protection at Three Gorges in southwest China.

The city walls around the tiny town, three ancient city gates to the west, east and south of the town, the stone roads and houses with a history of several hundred years are still well preserved in Dachang. The limpid Daning River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, runs through the town.

"The town has been a flourishing place with merchants from various regions of China gathering there in ancient times," said 60-year-old Wen Guanglin, who sells beancurd, a traditional food, in the town.

Wen inherited the town's largest house with a courtyard covering about 800 square meters from his ancestors.

He likes his life in the old house. He likes listening to the drizzle falling on to the ground of the courtyard. And he likes showing visitors his large house with gray bricks and black tiles richly decorated with carvings and paintings.

However, Wen's house and courtyard, together with 37 other ancient buildings in Dachang and the city walls, will be moved to a new site 5 kilometers away.

The relocation plan was drawn by experts from the China Institute of Cultural Relics, the Chinese Academy of Construction Survey and Design and other organs.

Each brick, tile and pillar of the ancient buildings will be marked and disass-embled, and then restored at the new site. Some parts of the buildings too old to be moved will be replaced by materials similar to the original ones.

However, unavoidable damage may be caused to the ancient buildings during the shifting, Liu noted, adding that "we will try our best to maintain the original look of the town."

After restoration, Dachang will become a tourist site. Some former residents will be allowed to return to their old houses, and traditional customs will be preserved, said Liu.

The Three Gorges Dam, which is under construction, is the world's largest water conservation project. After the completion of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009, more than 1,100 villages and towns, including ancient towns similar to Dachang, such as Xintan, Yangdu and Xituo on the two banks of the Yangtze River will be inun-dated, and over 1 million residents will be relocated.

(Eastday.com.cn 06/25/2001)