Chan preserved the wood in a warehouse in Hong Kong, and he made a large effort and spent a lot of money to protect the wood, Wang told Anhui Daily last week.

Chan's decision to donate the houses triggered an online outcry, with many netizens criticizing him for donating historic Chinese buildings to a foreign organization.

Chan said on Tuesday that he didn't realize the public would be so concerned about the donation, and he promised not to do anything to harm the nation.

Many netizens and architecture experts also pointed out that Chan's donation decision shows that many ancient buildings are not protected well in many domestic cities.

About 40,000 historic relics have disappeared in the past 30 years, and more than half of them were destroyed by new construction, according to statistics released in late 2011 by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The Anhui provincial government vowed on Monday to protect ancient buildings that are part of the province's main projects, including dangerous-house reconstruction, infrastructure construction and rural region regulation, according to a report in Anhui Daily.

Wan Yixue, deputy mayor of Huangshan in Anhui province, said in an open letter to Chan that he hopes the ancient buildings can be donated back to the Huangshan government.

"I guarantee that Chan's wish (to protect the ancient buildings) will be fulfilled," the deputy mayor said in the letter.

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