Renowned for its well-preserved wooden architecture, the 1,700-year-old town is being emptied before a hydroelectric plant is completed on the nearby Yangtze River, a project that is expected to flood Gongtan.

The Chinese government has said it will relocate the townspeople to another settlement about 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) away. But some villagers have resisted the move, citing poor planning and inadequate compensation for their losses.

"We have a scenic town with a history of 1,700 years," one resident told the Reuters news service. "Nobody will come to the new town because it won't have this ancient flavor."

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