Northwest China's Shaanxi Province has planned to invest 553 million yuan (US$66.6 million) in building a historical park at the site of the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang (259 BC-210 BC), the first emperor of China's feudal dynasties.
The local government plans to requisition more than 2,900 mu (193 hectares) of land and afforest an area of more than 3.2 square kilometers in the park and the surrounding areas.
Three villages, including 1,007 families and 24 enterprises, located on the site of the future historical park, will be relocated outside the protection zone for cultural relics, and two museums will be set up.
Hundreds of terra cotta figures were unearthed in the area east of the Qinshihuang Mausoleum in 1974, a discovery that is regarded as one of the most magnificent of the last century. All are life-size warriors and horses, in full battle array.
The mausoleum was officially recognized as World Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1987.
The project is expected to be completed in 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2003)
