Pingyao, a well-known ancient city in North China, will relocate more than 20,000 residents out of the city in the next four years to better protect this World Cultural Heritage site.

The city, in Shanxi Province, was built 2,000 years ago. It has well-preserved ancient city walls, residences, government offices, and stores of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It was therefore put on the World Cultural Heritage list in 1997.

Covering an area of 2.25 square kilometres, the city has a population of 45,000.

To restore the original outlook of the ancient city, the local government has decided to relocate residents in the downtown area.

At the same time, the city government has made great efforts to improve the local environment. Thirty polluting enterprises around the city are to be closed, with 30 chimneys and more than 400 coke furnaces to be demolished in the near future.

( China Daily May 20, 2002)