Source: CCTV.com

03-20-2007 09:43

Earlier this month the Chuanzhu Palace, in Southwest China's Guizhou province was burned down in a fire. It was a unique ancient building made of wood and stone and investigators are now looking further into the incident.

The fire on the night of March the 7th nearly destroyed all of the fourteenth century building. Only the facade and a couple of timbers were left. the whole building will need to be reconstructed.

First built in the early Ming Dynasty over six hundred years ago, the Chuanzhu Palace for centuries served as the headquarters of the Sichuan merchants and traders who worked in Guizhou province. Designated as state-protected cultural relic, the structure had been the pride and joy of the city of Tongchuan, an ancient trading town.

The fire is believed to have been started by a short-circuited in an electric heater. Because the building is located at the end of a very narrow lane, fire engines couldn't reach the site until most of it had already been destroyed.

 

Editor:Liu Fang