On the pillar was a strange-looking inscription in a mystical language.

Around the pillar, in the warm sunshine of South Asia, shone monasteries and temples in more than 10 different styles. In them, Buddhists from various Asian countries worshipped in their different languages to the same Buddha.

Among the spectacular Buddhist buildings is the China Temple, the first phase of which has been completed.

As a gift from the Chinese Government to Nepal, the China Temple or Zhonghua Si covers more than 25,000 square meters. It is a "grand building with red walls and golden glazed roofs, in the style of official temples in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)," said Fu Qingyuan, a member of the project committee and chief engineer of the Chinese Cultural Heritage Research Institute.

Organized by the Chinese Buddhist Association, construction of the China Temple began in 1996. The project has brought together leading Chinese architects and experts on ancient buildings.

The location, surrounded by swamps today, was chosen because of the inscription on the pillar erected by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC.

It reads: "... here at Lumbini, the enlightened one was born..."

Lumbini, which means "the lovely" in the Sanskrit language, was the name of a queen and also of her beautiful garden covered with green and shady sal trees.

It has been the destination of Buddhist pilgrims just like Mecca for Muslims because it was here that Sakyamuni, formerly known as the Sakya Prince Gautama Siddhartha, and later the ultimate Buddha, the Enlightened One, was born circa 563 BC.

Buddhist documents describe how Queen Mayadevi of the Sakyas visited the Lumbini gardens 16 kilometers from her own city. Emerging from a bath with her face to the east, she leant her right arm on a sal tree.

Her son Sakyamuni was then born from her right side and immediately took seven steps -- from which lotus flowers sprang up in each of the four compass points.

In each direction, he proclaimed as with a lion's roar: "I am the first, the best of all beings. This is my last birth."

Over a period of about a millennium, the religion founded by Sakyamuni spread to East and Southeast Asia and later all over the world.

In AD 405, Chinese monk Fa Xian (AD 334-420) visited Lumbini, while Xuan Zang (AD 602-644), another Chinese monk, went there in AD 633.

However, after the first visits, people could no longer find the location of Lumbini. The holy ground of Buddhism remained a mystery for more than 1,000 years.

In 1896, Nepalese archaeologists rediscovered the stone pillar of Ashoka and therefore Lumbini, according to records in Fa Xian's works. Found at the site were relics of the garden, the pond, the pillar and an ancient Buddhist temple.

In 1970, an international committee was founded to develop Lumbini with the support of the United Nations.

The UN program aimed to build the village into a "center to promote world peace, facilitate international understanding and co-operation on archaeological research," as then UN Secretary-General U Thant said in 1967.

More than 10 Asian countries joined the UN program to restore the cultural heritage of the small Nepalese village.

In 1986, China offered to help with the development and to build the China Temple in Lumbini. Part of the first phase of construction had been completed in 1999 when the temple was inaugurated.

The temple, in the form of a courtyard, is decorated with traditional colored paintings. The main Buddha hall is paved with white marble.

"The temple reflects the Chinese aesthetic rule of pursuing symmetry, which contrasts with the many temples and monasteries beside it," said Fu.

"The Chinese monks there speak perfect English," he added.

Near the China Temple is the luxurious Myanmar Vihara, with golden and green roofs and white walls. In the vihara (monastery) is an elegant white pagoda with conical designs.

An impressive building in the Lumbini complex is the Peace Pagoda built by Japan. The tall building, in the conical design of a traditional Japanese pagoda, attracts visitors with the white allure of its glazed surface in the sunshine.

"At the birthplace of the Buddha are assembled religious buildings of more than 10 East and Southeast Asian countries that have been influenced by Buddhism," said Fu.

"It's interesting to see in these buildings how the religion blends with the aesthetic views, social concepts and geologies of different ethnic groups."

(China Daily February 19, 2003)