Beijing announced Tuesday that it would protect and rebuild Yuanmingyuan, an ancient royal garden, into a heritage park by 2008.

The city would clean up illegal construction and conflicting business activities in the park, restore the garden's surface features, and develop sustainable uses of water resources, said Yu Jun, deputy head of Beijing's Haidian District, where Yuanmingyuan is located.

A park management plan to line the Yuanmingyuan lake bed with plastic sheets to prevent water seepage sparked widespread criticism after media coverage in April, with some people saying the project damaged the park's ecosystem and destroyed its archaeological and aesthetic values.

The State Environmental Protection Administration halted the project and ordered the park's management office to submit an environmental impact assessment report, which would decide whether to restart the project.

Yu said the district government would conduct a series of scientific studies before adopting any measures to protect the garden.

Environmental departments are evaluating the lake-lining project.
 
(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2005)