Pingtan is planning to build a large-scale tourism complex based on the research center for Austronesian archaeology, which was established in the city in Nov, last year, local media reported on Feb 5.

The tourism complex shall integrate the functions of scientific research，education, accommodation, catering as well as sightseeing, according to a staffer with the Pingtan Tourism Co.

The International Research Center for Austronesian Archaeology in Pingtan, is led by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences institute of archaeology, and Fujian Museum.

The Austronesian language family includes those spoken by hundreds of millions of people in maritime Southeast Asia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands, Madagascar, etc.

Past research support the claim that Austronesian languages have their roots in Taiwan. But a new view has recently surfaced in the academic circle, suggesting that Taiwan was probably a mid-way station and the origins of the languages were on the Chinese mainland.

The research center is near a Neolithic site -- the Keqiutou ruins -- where archaeologists have found many stone tools including rudimentary hand-axes. The artifacts are similar to those found in Taiwan's Dachakeng ruins, believed to be the home of the ancestors of the Austronesians.

Researchers now are collecting and restoring the Keqiutou findings, which shall be displayed at the center.

A conceptual picture of the International Research Center for Austronesian Archaeology in Pingtan, Fujian province [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Relics storage room for the research center [Photo/ptnet.cn]