1.2b yuan to rebuild razed ancient town

Local authorities have made out a reconstruction plan for the fire-stricken Dukezong Ancient Town, Yunnan province, and expect to invest a total of 1.2 billion yuan ($195.36 million) for the three-year plan.

Huang Zhenghong, the governor of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture governing Dukezong, said that the reconstruction work for the residential buildings is expected to be finished by the end of this year, and all reconstruction work will be finished in three years.

The reconstruction will fully respect history, ethnic culture and customs, and local authorities will restore the ancient town on the principle of "repairing the old as the old."

However, new materials, such as slates, will replace the former wood structures in the newly-built buildings, to meet the aim of ecological protection.

Dukezong Ancient Town, located at Shangri-La in Diqing, was built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and has more than 1,300 years' history.

Dukezong, which means "town of the moon" in Tibetan, is known for its well-preserved ancient Tibetan dwellings.

A fire broke out on January 11 in the ancient town, destroying 343 ancient houses. The fire-stricken area accounted for 4.38 percent of the heritage protection area.