A protection program is soon to be launched on a human cultural relic site dating back to at least 70,000 years ago in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Hohhot local government said Wednesday.

The program, involving an estimated investment of 96 million yuan (US$11.8 million), will help protect cultural relics in the middle Paleolithic Age at the Sala Usa site.

The Sala Usa site, stretching 34 kilometers in Uxin Banner of Ordos City in Inner Mongolia, was discovered in 1922 after a fossilized human tooth was excavated.

Under the program, the local government will control soil erosion, build a museum and relocate over 400 residents around the site in upcoming five years.

(Xinhua News Agency July 27, 2005)