Suzhou Mayor Yang Weize has defended the city's construction of a new museum designed by architect I.M. Pei, which has sparked controversy because of its planned location near a UN World Heritage site.
'The new museum has great meaning for tourism and historical preservation,' Mr Yang said yesterday.
Suzhou will formally start construction of the museum on November 5, with the famed architect to attend a groundbreaking ceremony, city officials said. The museum will open in 2005.
Some have opposed the site of the new museum, next to the old one, because it is near the UN-protected Humble Administrator's Garden and will result in the destruction of century-old buildings.
Mr Yang said Suzhou needed to protect relics and create a concentration of cultural sites in the city centre. The 10,000 square metre museum will have one underground level and two above ground in an L-shape surrounding a pond and garden.