A museum featuring cultural relics unearthed during the construction of the south-to-north water diversion project opened on Sunday in Shiyan City, central China's Hubei Province.

Archaeologists have dug out 14,000 artifacts from 2,800 ancient town ruins, tombs, kilns, houses, and storage pits in Shiyan City, where the Danjiangkou Reservoir is under renovation.

The local archaeological institute started excavating the historical sites in June 2005, which cover an area of 72,000 square meters.

After two years of excavation, archaeologists have unearthed relics that date back to the Xia (21-16 cent. BC), Shang (16-11 cent. BC), Zhou (11 cent-221 BC), Han (206 BC - 220), Western Jin (265 - 316), Tang (618 - 907), Song (960 - 1279), Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties.

The sites contain large quantities of bronze, stone, iron, bone, jade, china and ceramic wares, terracotta warrior-shaped figures, and ancient coins, according to the archaeologists.

The south-to-north water diversion project, which runs across eight provinces and regions, has given Chinese archaeologists unprecedented opportunities to discover old treasures, the experts added.

The findings will help the study of the construction of ancient villages and townships as well as their customs, cultural traditions, protocols, and burial rites, experts said.

The water diversion project consists of three canals, each running more than 1,200 kilometers across the eastern, central, and western parts of the country.

The eastern and central routes will require the protection of more than 700 major cultural heritage sites, with a planned excavation area surpassing 1.6 million square meters.

Last November, the Chinese government decided to allocate 50 million yuan (US$6.2 million) for the preservation of 45 major cultural heritage sites along the two routes.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2007)