Ancient dwellings to rise again with renovation order

The government of Jincheng, Shanxi province, has launched an investigation into the demolition of an ancient village that was torn down to make way for coal mining, and it has ordered an immediate renovation of the remains.

The village, Banpo, which lies in Zezhou county, had more than 60 ancient dwellings that dated back to the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). The village was listed as a city-level cultural relic protection unit in 2007.

But at the end of the same year, the local government of the county demolished the village, which covered an area of 2.1 hectares, and moved more than 500 villagers to make the land available for Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group, a local mining company.