Damage to historic relics in Xi'an repaired

By Ma Lie (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-09 08:40

XI'AN: The Dayan Pagoda and seven terracotta warriors that suffered light damage in the May 12 earthquake have been successfully repaired, cultural heritage officials in Shaanxi said Monday.

"The damaged wall inside the Dayan Pagoda has been repaired and the tower has been reopened to the public, after being closed for two months. The seven terracotta warriors have also been repaired," Zhao Qiang, deputy director of the cultural relics section of the Shaanxi cultural heritage administration, told China Daily.

The Dayan Pagoda was built in 653 AD. The terracotta warriors date from about 210 BC.

Technicians required three months to repair relics and buildings in Xi'an damaged by the 8.0 magnitude earthquake. They are now turning their attention to ancient buildings damaged by the quake elsewhere in the province.

A total of 86 relic sites in Shannxi were damaged by the earthquake, including the Dayan Pagoda, the Bell Tower (built in 1384), and the Drum Tower (built in 1380).

Another 307 relics were also damaged, of which 99 are considered rare.

The earthquake also damaged office and storage buildings at 40 cultural heritage units in Shaanxi, causing a loss of 196 million yuan ($28.6 million), according to officials.

"After the earthquake, we immediately checked the Pagoda and found that it had not sustained serious damage," Xie Shoutao, director of the Dayan Pagoda management office, said.

In Lueyang, a county in southern Shaanxi near the earthquake's epicenter, the ancient Ziyun temple was seriously damaged.

About half of the temple's main hall collapsed during the earthquake. Rebuilding began on Aug 29 with a budget of 2 million yuan from the provincial government, Wang Wei, an official with the Lueyang cultural heritage bureau, said.