Li, who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau and honorary chairman of the Tomb of Yellow Emperor Fund, praised the restoration work which is being carried out by Shaanxi Province in northwest China where the tomb is located.

Addressing a workshop held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the fund and to discuss the restoration of the mausoleum, the CPPCC leader thanked all those who have helped to repair the ancestral mausoleum.

Vice-Chairmen of the CPPCC National Committee Wang Zhaoguo, LuoHaocai and Ma Wenrui were also in attendance.

Sacrificial rites for the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor beganas early as the Spring and Autumn Period (770 b.c-476 b.c.), and during the Han Dynasty (206 b.c.-220 a.d.), the mausoleum was repaired every year.

Li said the Yellow Emperor has become a symbol of the Chinese nation and a symbol of the national sentiment which unites all Chinese people.

All seven members of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau have inspected the restoration project of the mausoleum.

The fund, founded in Beijing in October 1992, has since raised 125 million yuan (about 15 million US dollars) from all sectors ofsociety.

To date, more than 80 million yuan (about 9.63 million US dollars) has been spent in the first phase of the restoration project.

At Saturday's workshop, individuals and institutions donated over 16.6 million yuan (about two million US dollars) for the second phase of the restoration project.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2002)