Erwang Temple

Dujiangyan resort is not the only cultural site that incurred losses during the powerful Wenchuan earthquake.

Shan Jixiang, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that 65 state protected and 119 provincially protected cultural relics in Sichuan had been severely damaged. The list includes the birthplace of Taoism: Mount Qingcheng; the Bao'en Temple, built by Pingwu governor Wang Xi between 1440 and 1460 AD; Chengdu's Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum – the former residence of one of most famous Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty; prehistoric Sanxingdui ruins; the Kuiguang pagoda and more.

Additionally, a total of 841 museum relics, 148 of which were regarded as precious, have been ruined. Sichuan's cultural bureau has asked museums across the province to temporarily store their exhibits to ensure their safety.

Wenchuan County, the epicenter, had just been awarded before the quake as an outstanding county for the preservation of cultural relics in China. But 2 state protected, 1 province protected, and 61 county protected cultural relics have all been significantly damaged.

"This is the biggest loss of cultural relics since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949," said Zhao Chuanrong, the deputy director of the Sichuan cultural relics bureau.

Shan Jixiang and his work team will continue to investigate the damage around Chengdu, Chongqing and other earthquake-hit areas. Expert teams have been set up by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, they will be sent out to evaluate relics and direct renovation projects. In 2 to 3 weeks, more experts from other parts of the nation will come to Sichuan to offer their aid and professional guidance.

Erwang Temple