Yin Baobao, an official from the Pingyao Administration of Cultural Heritage, emphasized the pressures in attempting to balance cultural preservation with a large population.

"It is like sitting on the top of a volcano every day," Yin said. A staff member from Pingyao Administration Committee said the water and electricity facilities were all constructed in the 1960s. As tourism boomed in recent years, these facilities and infrastructure no longer meet today's needs. If the city can't move more residents out expeditiously, the town will die -- forget any new development, the staff member added. A large population causes many significant problems for a historic town, said Liu Jianchang, vice director of the Pingyao Tourism Bureau.

"Most of the houses in the town are made of wood, so if there's a fire, the whole town will burn down. Some residents set up street stalls without a license; bicycles, cars, motorcycles and battery vehicles congest the crowded town streets even further. Tourists don't come to see this," Liu said. However, the relocation process has proved exorbitantly expensive. The city requires more than 2 billion yuan (US$300.49 million) for the new city being built for relocated residents, and also reconstructing Pingyao. Yet the city's annual revenue last year was only 730 million yuan (US$109.68 million), which is far from sufficient.

Administrators say great efforts have been made to relocate residents. The city government plans to invest 700 million yuan (US$105.17 million) to relocate 15,000 more people.

"We have spent 100 million yuan (US$15.02 million) in the past two years. Now we have a new loan of 600 million yuan (US$90.15 million) from the Export-Import Bank of China for the construction of the new city and the protection of the cultural relics for the next three years," Liu said in a released statement.

"Part of the funds will be used for the maintenance and repair of old buildings, some of which will be turned into nice hotels to accommodate the increasing numbers of tourists from all over the world," he added.

To make up for the shortage of funds, the city has increased the admission fee to Pingyao many times, and the new increase, from 100 yuan (US$15.02) to 125 yuan (US$18.78), will take effect next March. Nevertheless, the income it generates remains far short of the city's needs.

(China.org.cn December 18, 2010)