Chinese rail company damages 3,000-year-old relics: state mediaA Chinese construction company severely damaged relics relics, part of the body of a saint or a thing closely connected with the saint in life. In traditional Christian belief they have had great importance, and miracles have often been associated with them. dating back more than 3,000 years while building a section of a high-speed rail High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions include 200-320 km/h (125-200 mph) - depending on whether the track is upgraded or new - by the European Union and above 90 mph linking Beijing and Shanghai, state media reported Tuesday. Work was halted on the section of rail in the eastern city of Nanjing and the company faces a fine of up to 500,000 yuan (73,000 dollars) for ignoring warnings that the site contained ancient treasures, the China Daily said. "These precious cultural relics absolutely must be excavated before construction continues," Nanjing's Cultural Heritage Bureau deputy director Yang Qinghua was quoted as saying. "You can't just ignore them." Nearly 2,000 square metres Noun 1. square metre - a centare is 1/100th of an are centare, square meter area unit, square measure - a system of units used to measure areas (21,500 square feet) of the site was damaged last week when the company shrugged off experts' instructions not to work on the area in China's ancient capital, Yang was quoted as saying. The incident is the latest battle between those seeking to drive China's explosive growth forward at any cost and those wanting to preserve the country's priceless historical heritage. The site was identified in October after bones and pottery dating back to the Shang Dynasty Shang dynasty or Yin dynasty Traditionally, the second of China's dynasties, following the Xia dynasty. Until excavations in the 20th century provided archaeological evidence for the Xia, the Shang was the first verifiable Chinese dynasty. (16th to 11th century BC) and the Zhou Dynasty Zhou dynasty or Chou dynasty (1046–256 BC) Ancient Chinese dynasty that gave China its historically identifying political and cultural characteristics. (11th to 3rd century BC) were discovered there, Yang said, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the report. Heritage officials initially told the company it would have to redirect the rail line, but company officials refused, saying the project was of national importance, Yang was quoted as saying. Heritage officials then told the company, the government-run Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway (京滬高速鐵路) is one of China's ambitious plans for high-speed trains. It was originally scheduled for completion before the beginning of 2008 Summer Olympics and Expo 2010. Headquarters, that by law they would have to stop work for a year and pay 5 million yuan to excavate all the relics before proceeding, Yang said. A spokesman for the Ministry of Railways told the newspaper he was not aware of the case, but said such an incident "should not have happened". 
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