Five people have been arrested in north China's Hebei province for digging a tunnel in an attempt to steal antiques from a pagoda, said local police on Wednesday.

Five people have been arrested in north China's Hebei province for digging a tunnel in an attempt to steal antiques from a pagoda, said local police on Wednesday.

Three others involved are still at large.

Police were informed a group was trying to break into the Guanghui Temple in Zhengding, Hebei on March 2. They rented a restaurant not far from the pagoda to dig their tunnel. Police became suspicious after the restaurant, which advertised lamb soup, never opened its door.

After the arrest, police found a hole seven meters deep, which was connected to a tunnel more than 50 meters long. An initial investigation showed the suspects started digging last December.

The Dinghui Temple was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), but the pagoda, exquisitely decorated, was rare and typical in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), or Jurchen Dynasty. It was put on China's national cultural relics list in 1961.

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