Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.vom

    NANSHAN District Government will dismantle illegal buildings in the 1,700-year-old Xin’an Ancient Town in the Nantou area to protect century-old historical relics, officials said.

    The ancient city, also known as Nantou Ancient Town, is the largest tourist attraction featuring historical relics in Shenzhen. Beginning in the Jin Dynasty (265-420), Hong Kong, Macao, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Dongguan were under the jurisdiction of Xin’an town for centuries. During the reign of Emperor Zhu Yijun (1573-1620) in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Xin’an became a major communications center and strategic post for coastal defense.

    Featuring remains of the ancient Lingnan culture, Xin’an Ancient Town has one provincial-level protected relic, the coastal defense wall, and five city-level protected relics, including a hall commemorating the Duke of Xinguo, Wen Tianxiang, a scholar-general in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

    Yet among the 1,294 structures in Xin’an Ancient Town, 91 percent are illegal buildings. The 30,000 occupants of the ancient town are migrants engaging in low-end industries. The number of native residents is only 800.

    To visitors, the cultural and historical values of the ancient town are hard to find, as the area appears to be simply a filthy village in disorder.

    Construction plans call for the ancient town to be restored to its original state. Native residents will be relocated to a new village in Tongle, Nanshan.