IN 1983, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was considered an experiment so radical that a control line was set up around it, and anyone entering or exiting the zone needed to pass through a checkpoint.

Destruction of the unused checkpoint buildings began last week.

In a bid to preserve some of Shenzhen’s recent history, the main building of the Tongle Checkpoint, located in Meilin, will be turned into a museum.

The museum will mark the control line that used to divide the former Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Longgang and Bao’an districts.

A park will also be built in the Tongle Checkpoint area to commemorate the old 83.5-km control line that had 16 checkpoints.

In the past week, parts of the Shawan, Xincheng, Fulong, Yanpai and Qingshuihe checkpoints have been demolished.

The Meilin, Nantou, Buji, Shawan and Baimang checkpoints will be renovated into transportation terminals, according to a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Party committee Tuesday.

The unused checkpoint buildings were causing traffic congestion in some areas.

Demolition of the checkpoints will be completed by the end of this month.