Following a trek of just 1.2 kilometers which took five months to complete the 3,500-ton Ciyuan Temple is on solid ground again, an official in central China's Henan Province said on Thursday.

 

Those responsible for relocating the three, 1,500-year-old temple buildings said the operation was like "moving a plate of sand".

 

The Ciyuan Temple complex in Linzhou of Henan was built at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (627-649) and renovated during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

 

It's the first time ever that an ancient temple in China has been lifted off its foundations and moved intact to a new location.

 

The move was necessary to make way for the Anyang-Linzhou Highway which runs between coal mines in the area. "The move had many unprecedented difficulties," said Du Qiming, director of the Henan Research Institute of Ancient Architecture Protection who were responsible for the project.

 

Those involved in the move had to steer the brick and wooden temple which is nine meters tall around 13 bends and over undulating ground.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2006)