The Chinese Government has invested 11 million yuan (US$1.33 million) to protect the Steles Forest in Guilin, a cultural site in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The first-phase of the project will cost 5.655 million yuan (US$680,000), said Liu Lingshuang, head of the local stele museum.

The steles in Guilin City, which was included on the state key protection list in 2001, is one of the two major stele collections in China, typically reflecting the highest level of stone carving art of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and having great value for the study of Chinese traditional historical culture.

The first phase of the project is to prevent the inscriptions on the stones from damage caused by long-time exposure to air by making "clothes" -- showcases for the stones or painting preservatives on the steles.

In addition, the museum workers have collected many stone carving articles from the villages in outskirts of the city.

"We will continue to trace the lost 'national treasures' and put them back into the collection," Liu said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2003)