Dilapidated houses in Kashgar, located in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are undergoing a three billion yuan ($446.1 million) restoration project, a planning official told the c hinadaily.com.cn on Oct 24, 2010.

The overview of dilapidated houses in old Kashgar city, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo / chinadaily.com.cn]

According to Abudusalam, the manager of the planning department of the project, which has been underway since February 2009, up to now 9,378 dilapidated houses which cover 888,300 square meters in old Kashgar city have been removed. A total of 16,557 houses covering 1.28 million square meters have been restored or built.

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During the renovation, efforts have been made to maintain Kashgar's original appearance, so the structures will keep their original architectural and cultural characteristics after the renovation, Abudusalam said.

Kashgar was historically a place of strategic importance on the Silk Road. The city and its culture have distinctive ethnic characteristics. But the city is located in an area frequently hit by earthquakes, and the mostly old and dilapidated houses in the old city of Kashgar are extremely vulnerable to tremors or fire. Thus, the restoration work is vital to the people's safety and the city's future development.

The city plans to complete the restoration works of 10,799 dilapidated houses with a land area of 1.21 million square meters this year, according to Abudusalam.