Anhui seeks to protect ancient buildings form leaving

The kungfu star Jackie Chan was planning to donate four Hui-style ancient buildings to the Singapore University of Technology and Design. Now, the local government has stepped in to deal with the issue, and ensure that it doesn't happen again.

In his latest blockbuster "Chinese Zodiac" Jackie Chan muses that "Nobody could rob relics from other countries and display them in his own museum." Ironic, considering the film icon's decision to donate four of his ancient Chinese wooden buildings to a Singapore university.

On April 4, Chan announced his intentions to move the buildings, after failing to reach an agreement with the Hong Kong government.

The news has caused a sensation on the internet, sparking debate over the conservation of China's cultural heritage. According to the third national survey on cultural relics, over 40,000 supposedly "immovable" relics have disappeared in the past 30 years, with more than half that number destroyed through construction.

Huizhou-style architecture, found in Anhui and Jiangxi provinces, is characterised by buildings with white walls and black roofs. It's considered to be a "living fossil" of ancient Huizhou culture.

Local governments are taking action. Anhui Province has begun recording and surveying all of its ancient buildings, with each one being awarded an ID number which includes information such as conservation level, design and construction techniques. All the registered buildings will be forbidden from leaving the province.