Four sites in the area devastated by the May 12 earthquake in southwest China will be preserved intact as part of a large museum project, a cultural official told reporters on Friday.

The four locations are Beichuan County, Yingxiu Township in Wenchuan County (the epicenter), the Hanwang manufacturing base ofthe Dongfang Steam Turbine Corp. in Mianzhu, and a deep ravine at Hongkou, Dujiangyan, once a famous scenic spot. All are in Sichuan, the hardest-hit province.

The four sites were jointly chosen by a panel of experts on such topics as cultural heritage, construction and seismology and were written into the latest plan for the museum, according to Li Yaoshen, deputy head of the museum section of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

He said the Sichuan government had submitted the plan to the central government last Friday.

Research work for the quake museum started late in May.

Li said the main goal of the museum would be to serve as "a testimony to, an exhibition and commemoration of the quake" and for people to mourn the victims. A memorial wall with the names, ages and images of the quake victims might be erected, he said.

The museum would also be a place to conduct quake research and disseminate it to the public.

The museum is expected to be built in two to three years, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2008)