A heritage museum built on the Lajia site will be presented to the public on April 28, an official in command of the construction project declared on Monday. Located in the northwestern province of Qinghai, the prehistoric disaster ruins of Lajia which was formed by an earthquake and flood dating back 4,000 years is known as the 'Pompeii of the East', covering an area of 680,000 square meters.
The heritage museum is part of the themed park established to protect China's only prehistoric ruins of disasters unearthed in 1981 on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Construction of the park began in July 2014 with a budget of 475 million yuan ($73 million). The entire park is expected to open to the public by October, the official Duo Xianying, said.
The site is an example of Qijia Culture, which flourished in the transitional period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, about 3,500 to 4,000 years ago, according to archaeologists. In addition to skeletons, tools and homeware, archaeologists also found the remains of the world's oldest noodles – a batch of 50cm-long, yellow strands in a red pottery bowl, which may have been used for sacrifice judging from where they were placed.
In China, many heritage sites are under threat of urbanization, hence building heritage museums can both preserve the sites and better engage the public. Moreover, ruins left from natural disasters like the Lajia site are very rare, it is highly valued by scientists and needs to be further explored for it is beneficial for scientists to find out more scientific discoveries.