To restore the historical image of Beijing as an ancient
capital, cultural relics protection authorities are to renovate the
capital's four major imperial sacrificial sites.
The four altars the Temple of Heaven, the Altar of the Earth,
the Altar of the Sun and the Altar of the Moon, played an important
part in the ritual life of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing
(1644-1911) emperors.
Part of Beijing's Humanistic Olympics blueprint, the altars'
repairs project aims to highlight the ancient city's cultural
legacy and find a proper balance between development and
preservation, Mei Ninghua, director of Beijing's Cultural Heritage
Bureau, said on Friday.
Repairs have already begun in the Altar of the Moon or Yuetan in
the city's Xicheng District.
Built in 1530, the roughly 8-hectare Altar of the Moon was the
site of imperial sacrifices to the God of the Moon.
However, in the past decades, bushes and fruit trees have been
planted here, transforming the old temple into a public park. In
1969, a 180-metre television broadcasting tower was erected in the
park, taking up about one-eighth of the total space of the park,
said Wang Jun, an official with the Xicheng District Gardening
Bureau.
The repair project will give the park a facelift, rebuild
damaged constructions including the wall of the altar, the square,
white marble sacrifice platform, the sacrifice routes in the park
and many ancient houses, said Wang , whose bureau is in charge of
the restoration project.
Beijing municipal government and Xicheng district government
have jointly earmarked 190 million yuan (US$23 million) to the
Yuetan Park project, which also includes moving away the
broadcasting tower and upgrading the park's environment. Four
institutes and 178 households near the altar will be moved to other
places to make way for the altar wall and grassed areas.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of next
year.
Restoration of the other three altars will begin later this
year, officials said.
Research and studies on repair of the Temple of Heaven, the
Altar of the Earth and the Altar of the Sun are ongoing, they
said.
(China Daily September 25, 2004)