On 1st October, Chin'a National Day, the huge new heritage park based on the Tang Dynasty palace of the emporers was opened to the public. We were able to attend on the first day when an estimated 250,000 entered the public park and some 30,000 paid 60 Yuan (£6) each to enter a pay zone where the remains of former halls and gardens were on display together with new artworks and representations of former buildings. There is a large new museum with artefacts that have been discovered on the site as well as an Archaeology Centre telling the story of how the scientists have discovered the hostory of the site. 100,000 people and their houses were moved from the site to create the park which is larger than Central Park New York and can be seen to be the "Gateway to the Silk Road" as it was here that the emporers would have received guests to Chang'an (now modern day Xian) in the Tang Dynasty in the 7th to 10th Centuries AD.
I have been working with the Chinese as a consultant on aspects of the visitor facilities and visitor management and interpretation for the past 2 years so it was great to be able to attend the opening ceremony and to meet many of the staff with whom I have been working. Not everything is finished yet so there is still much to do to make the park one of the world's great attractions.
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