Over the next three years, Jing'an Temple, which is older than Shanghai itself, will undergo a massive facelift, the largest since the city was liberated in 1949, officials said yesterday.

The second phase of the 40-million yuan (US$4.83 million) project, which started on Saturday, will involve an area of more than 17,000 square meters, three times the present area.

"The renovation will make the temple more beautiful and modern," said Huiming Master, the Buddhist abbot of the temple.

The investment for the renovation will come from the temple's finances, as well as donations from Buddhists from home and abroad, he said.

In the first phase, two 12.8-meter tall buildings were constructed in May on both sides of the temple's gate at a cost of about 6 million yuan.

One of the structures is being used to hang a 3.3-meter Peace Bell, cast in 1999 to signify the advent of the 21st century, and the other for keeping a drum, 2.2 meters in diameter that's made of cowskin. It is used by the monks.

The Buddhist temple on downtown Nanjing Road was constructed in A.D. 247 and boasts a history of 1,754 years - more than 1,000 years before the official beginning of the city of Shanghai in 1292.

"Age has taken its toll on the temple," the Master said.

With the city developing rapidly over the past decade and the neighboring Jing'an area becoming one of the most popular shopping centers in the city, the dilapidated state of the temple is hardly acceptable, he added.

Several shops and residential buildings nearby have been removed to pave way for the construction, officials told Shanghai Daily.

According to Yu Wangmei, a director of the renovation office, the design for the temple has been hammered out and will strictly adhere to the way traditional Chinese Buddhist temples have been constructed. That means it must have a certain sym-metry.

A broad-band network will be brought into 30 study rooms, where monks can surf the Internet. At the same time, firefighting, air-conditioning and computerized monitoring systems will also be added, officials said.

"I think the renovation is necessary. It will also provide us with a much better place to learn Buddhism," said Guo Xiaotong, a worshiper.

(Eastday.com.cn 07/24/2001)