Beijing's Bureau of Cultural Relics yesterday organized a ceremony to launch the restoration of a 500-year-old temple.

The bureau will invest 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) in restoring the Doctor Hall and the Hall of Buddhist Scriptures in the temple, which were destroyed by a fire at the end of last century.

The Beijing Xingzhongxing Architectural Design Office and the Zhongxing Historical Relics Architectural Design Engineering Company won the bid for the project.

The heart of the Fahai Temple consists of full-length murals from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

After rebuilding the two halls, the bureau will move duplicated murals into the halls and open them for visitors.

All of the original murals will be preserved by the relics authority.

Located at the southern foot of the Cuiwei Mountain in the Shijingshan District in the western suburbs of Beijing, the Fahai (Sea of Dharma) Temple was built in 1439 by the Board of Works in the Ming Dynasty. Funds were raised by Li Tong, a famous court eunuch during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yingzong, who named the temple, historical records say.

The murals have been preserved in the Mahavia Hall and the existing murals are distributed on the fan-shaped eastern, western and rear walls. The murals cover 236.7 square meters and show Bodhisattvas, flying celestial beings, animals, flowers, plants and landscapes.

"The drawing technology used on the murals is a mixture of various techniques of past dynasties in China and is highly sophisticated," said Luo Zhewen, a famous relics expert with the Ministry of Construction.

The rebuilding of the halls is just small part of Beijing's plans for relic protection.

According to sources with the bureau, the city will earmark 330 million yuan (US$39 million) in the coming three years to protect historical sites.

To date, more than 70 sites have been listed on the bureau's rebuilding and protection schedule.

(China Daily 04/27/2001)