China heritage foundation to renovate sailors' tombs in Britain

China Foundation For Cultural Heritage Conservation on Wednesday launched an appeal to revamp the tombs of five Chinese sailors in a cemetery in Newcastle, Great Britain.

The tombs contain the remains of five seamen of the Beiyang Fleet, who were sent to Britain to collect vessels for the fleet in the 1880s but who became sick and died while being trained.

According to the foundation, cracks have been found in the tombstones and three of them have collapsed.

Li Xiaojie, head of the foundation, said the five sailors laid down their lives for their country, even though they did not die in battle.

The foundation will publish information about the program, including donors' names and the amount of donations, on its website (www.ccrpf.org.cn).

It is the first time the foundation has made a public appeal to protect overseas cultural relics since it was founded in 1999. Endit