Various local government departments are arguing about who should take the lead in protecting what is left of a 450-year-old wall that once surrounded all of downtown Shanghai.

Situated on the corner of a busy street, Dajingge -- the only 50-meter-long stretch of the wall that remains -- is in disrepair and was last renovated in 1995.

"The northern section of the ancient wall fell apart last summer during a big storm. After that, we piled up bricks to reinforce it, but it's still in danger," said Wang Shuming, director of the Dajingge Administration.

As a three-story pavilion along the wall was a Taoist shrine before the country's liberation in 1949, the Huangpu District government and the Shanghai Taoism Association are still negotiating which department should take charge of repairing the wall.

"But this problem will be fixed this year," said an official surnamed Yang at the Shanghai Cultural Relics Administration Commission.

An elderly couple who used to live near the wall, which is only a few blocks away from Yuyuan Garden, paid a visit yesterday to see if any repairs had been done.

"We were brought up here and really hope to see the whole section of the wall well preserved," said the elderly man.

Scholars are concerned about this issue as well.

While the Dajingge Administration has asked the government to help fix the wall, district authorities haven't put together a plan yet.

Part of the problem, according to one local scholar, is that the city doesn't have a bureau specifically charged with preserving historical relics.

Instead the work is split between many departments, often meaning it doesn't get done, said Ruan Yisan, a professor of urban cultural heritage at Tongji University.

He said the government needs to set up a protection department and play a more active role in preserving relics.

The wall was first built in 1553 by Ming Dynasty officials to protect the city from invaders. In 1959 it was listed as a cultural relic under municipal protection.

(Shanghai Daily February 17, 2004)