Where will the relics go?

The purpose of China's "South-to-North Water Diversion" project is to share the plentiful water resources of the south to the water-scarce areas in the north. The project not only needs people to migrate, but also some cultural relics.

In central Henan province, a large number of relics have to find a new home.

Wenji Site in Yexian county is right on the way of the South-to-North Water Diversion. Here, a great number of relics are salvaged.

Wang Longzheng, expert of Henan Archaeology Institute, said, "The pit we see here contains a cache of porcelain. A few days ago we found 8 pieces of very fine wares for daily use. Most of them are white porcelain, which is very thin. They date back to the late Jin Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty about 800 years ago. They were not local productions. So it might be a trade market."

These pieces offer clues that may help answer some unknowns about previous centuries, but now the priority is how to protect them. They are now temporarily collected in a small storeroom.

As of June, there have been over 50,000 pieces salvaged as a result of the South-to-North Diversion project. It's estimated that over 100,000 relics will be unearthed by the time the project is completed. Their new home, a museum for all those pieces, is still in the planning stage.