Investor 'clarifies' costly Epang Palace project  

网曝陕西欲投380亿造“新阿房宫” 2.5万人或搬离

File photo of the scenic area surrounding Epang Palace.

(ECNS) -- An expensive project involving a scenic spot in Xi'an has provoked outrage among the public, prompting an investor to step forward and offer an explanation, the Beijing Youth Daily has reported.

Earlier reports said the Epang Palace scenic spot, which cost more than 200 million yuan ($32 million) to rebuild but has only been open for 13 years, would be demolished to make way for a new one at a cost of 38 billion yuan.

Liu Xiaoguang, chairman of Beijing Capital Group, the project's investor, told the Beijing Youth Daily that the new project was misunderstood by media, and that only a preliminary agreement had been reached.

Liu said the plan was not to rebuild the palace or build a new one, but to initiate a cultural development project near the site. That project has been halted, however.

He also said they had planned to provide two billion yuan, with the local government offering land and other infrastructure worth 38 billion yuan.

The scenic area surrounding Epang Palace, which occupies more than 680 acres, was opened to the public in 2000 after a five-year reconstruction.

Things have not gone well since then. Due to a lack of additional tourism facilities and its location in the western suburb of Xi'an, few tourists have visited the site. The last round of advertising failed to boost business.

Epang Palace is an extravagant structure reputed to have been built by the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206 BC) to commemorate a woman he loved.

There are about 25,000 residents living around the old Epang Palace. If the new project is approved, they would have to move out of the area.