The renovation project for the Ming Dynasty's (1368-1644) City Wall
in Beijing has entered its concluding stages, with the final
touches being applied. The Ming Dynasty City Wall Ruins Park is
expected to open to the public before October 1. Re-construction
workers have been using gray plaster to lay bricks, instead of
cement which would normally be used in such situations.
According to the technician in charge of the project, "The cultural
relics department decided not to use cement for restoration of the
Ming Dynasty's City Wall, out of consideration for the original
aesthetics of the structure."
"People may harbor doubts over whether such plaster will be strong
enough to withstand the tough climatic conditions of the region,
especially when compared with robustness of cement. After all, we
are talking about an ancient technology," the technician said,
pointing to the ruins' five storey high walls. "However, the walls
have stood here for over 600 years without collapsing. We believe
this provides enough proof for the plaster's durability."
It
is reported that the ancient city walls of Beijing were initially
built during the Ming Dynasty and used an adhesive made from a
combination of lime and plaster to hold huge bricks together.
Before the renovation project of these city walls, technicians made
scientific appraisals of this "ancient cement" to ensure that
repairs to ancient walls would be robust enough while still
retaining their original characteristics.
The Ming Dynasty City Wall Ruins Park has been built alongside one
kilometer of ruins from Beijing's ancient city wall and covers some
13 hectares. Beijing was once surrounded by four rings of city
walls; the Forbidden City Wall, the Imperial City Wall, the Inner
City Wall, and finally the Outer City Wall.
The Ruins Park project is part of an initiative to protect
historical relics in the downtown Beijing area. The project has
cost some US$102 million to build, a large portion of which has
been used to compensate over 1,800 households in the area for
temporary relocation.
(china.org.cn by Wang Qian, September 26, 2002)