Sichuan preparing monument to S China Sea admiral

Officials in Sichuan Province are preparing to open a giant monument to a Chinese naval commander known for his patrols of the South China Sea more than 100 years ago.

The structure memorializing Li Zhun in Linshui County will be opened to the public sometime in 2017, said Huang Wei, head of Linshui's culture, press, publication, radio and television bureau.

Li Zhun, who was born in Linshui in 1871, became commander-in-chief of the navy in Guangdong in 1905.

"We will erect a bronze statue of Li, with the South China Sea the background," said Huang.

"A patriotic militarist, Li's greatest contribution was safeguarding the islands in the South China Sea, where he recaptured the Dongsha Islands and issued names to the Xisha Islands," said He Zhenghua, chairman of the Li Zhun and South China Sea Society.

According to He, Li found Japanese businessmen illegally mining on the Dongsha Islands in 1908. After his negotiation, China got the islands back.

The following year, Li led more than 170 people to inspect the Xisha Islands, giving names to 15 of them. The names are still in use. < On Yongxing Island, now the administrative base of the Chinese island city Sansha, Li raised the national flag, erected a monument and fired cannons.

He Zhenghua told Xinhua that Li also drew the first official map of the South China Sea after measuring its islands.

In 1910, Li finished a book on the Guangdong navy. "It was the first time that China had included islands in the South China Sea in its territory for national defense," He said. "It also proved that the islands belonged to China, and the central government retained administrative power over the South China Sea."

The Linshui County memorial is far from the only initiative being planned to honor Li Zhun.

In Li's hometown, Qishan Village of Linshui, a hilltop square is going to be named after him.

The hill is covered with plum trees. In Chinese, the word plum is pronounced "li." "Local people grew the trees in memory of the commander," said Yuan Yingli, a local official.

A play featuring Li has also been staged recently in Guang'an City, which administrates Linshui. Local cultural authorities are soliciting scripts to make a film on the admiral. Endi