In northern Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, the Daming Palace ruins are a silent testament to the glory of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Though most of the imperial structures were destroyed long ago, visitors may still get a sense of the palace's enormity by viewing its foundations.

Daming is one of the country's best-preserved imperial complexes, and argued by many to be one of China's greatest architectural masterpieces.

Xi'an dates back more than 3,100 years, and was the nation's capital for 11 centuries. Today, the Xi'an city government attaches great importance to cultural heritage preservation.

The newly completed Daming Palace National Park is the city's most recent achievement, part of a three-year effort to upgrade its Daobei area.

The palace was listed as a key historical heritage site under the central government's preservation program in its most recent five-year plan ending this December.

Xi'an authorities credited a 2005 meeting of the International Council on Monuments and Sites with guiding the Daming preservation project.

The meeting called for legislation and policies to evaluate, protect and administrate historical sites.