Quotable

"As a city with multiple historic sites, we will try our best to keep the original style of the ancient city during our reconstruction of shanty towns."

Kong Xiangcheng, deputy director of the housing and urban-rural development bureau in Kaifeng, Henan province, said on Monday, denying rumors that 100 billion yuan ($15.8 billion) will be spent to rebuild this ancient city. He said the rebuilding project, which has sparked an outcry, is only a project to remold the city's shanty towns.