But it is much tougher and expensive to move the 73-year-old Shanghai Concert Hall from its original position to a new location just over 66 meters away.

The first step in the move started with preparation on December 18, which actually got under way late in March.

The first phase of the project, to cut the building from its base and elevate it by 1.7 meters, ended on April 30 and it started moving in May.

The building is expected to reach its destination in August.

The new concert hall is due to be open to the public by January 1.

Moving's a must

The plan was the largest and most difficult building relocation project ever attempted in the country.

Experts from Tongji University unanimously believed that no known methods from home or abroad could have offered assistance for the ground breaking push.

And if that was not bad enough, it is an expensive operation, too.

Miao Luming, general manager of the concert hall, said: "The experts' latest estimation shows that the moving project will cost over 70 million yuan (US$8.45 million), far exceeding the budget of 50 million yuan (US$6.04 million)."

Some people argued the expense of moving the building already substantially surpassed that of erecting a brand-new concert hall.

Plus, as the risk of moving such an old building such a long distance is extremely high, they said it should not have been moved at all.

However, Xue Changming, division chief from the Municipal Civil Planning Bureau, said the city was persuaded to launch the project because the building was one of the hallmarks of the city's architectural and cultural heritage.

The Shanghai Concert Hall sits in the city's downtown area. As early as 1996, there was a plan to build the Yan'an Donglu Viaduct on the concert hall's original location.

However, considering its long history, city planners only took 8 square-meters from the concert hall's grounds for the bridge. Then, even those 8 square-meters were removed from the blueprint for the bridge, keeping the premises intact.

After a massive renovation plan of the city's downtown area was launched in 2001, the concert hall turned out to be smack bang in the middle of a new subway station, on paper at least.

This time, city planners and engineers found it difficult to change their plan, Xue explained.

It left two options for the concert hall -- it would either be pulled down or moved somewhere else.

In surveys, however, experts and the majority of Shanghai residents aired the opinion that it would be an incorrigible mistake to lose the building.

Zheng Shiling, an architect and former president of Tongji University, pointed out that the hall is one of the few fine examples of Chinese architecture in the classical Baroque style of Western design.

It holds a special place in the history of modern Chinese architecture.

Zhao Shen (1898-1978) and Fan Wenzhao (1893-1979), two Chinese architects, originally designed the building as the Nanjing Grand Theatre in 1929.

It features elegant ionic pillars with beautiful relief in the facade, marble interior walls and many other meticulous details.

According to Ni Zhenghua, a leading curator with the Shanghai Archives Bureau, when the concert hall was completed in 1930, it was regarded as the best theatre in Shanghai.

The New York Times wrote a story comparing it with the then best theatres in the United States.

The theatre was used to screen the premieres of many Hollywood movies and was changed into a concert hall in 1959, thanks to its quality acoustics.

Miao said although moving it was not the best way to preserve the historical building, when compared with the fate of destruction, the current option was the only way out.

Arduous job

For the experts, how to preserve the original acoustics of the concert hall posed the biggest challenge.

In 1962, a survey of acoustics of all the theatres in Shanghai showed that of the concert hall was No 1.

Jiang Guorong, associate professor of the Institute of Acoustics at Tongji University, said: "There is a set of data to show whether the acoustics of a building is good or not. One major index is the reverberation time, which shows how long a sound may last in a building."

The reverberation time of low frequencies is more than 1.8 seconds in the concert hall, he said, while the reverberation time of mid-range frequencies is 1.5 seconds, showing its first-class standard.

"Thus, the Shanghai Concert Hall is a good place not only for ensemble performances but for solos as well," Jiang said.

According to Shen Yunfang, marketing manager of the hall, the acoustics are closely associated to its pulling power and fame.

Shen said: "If the acoustics of the hall become worse than before after the move, we will lose many clients."

Jiang and other architectural experts believe as long as the overall structure of the building remains unchanged, its acoustics will not be affected.

The experts and staff members of the hall have worked tirelessly on the moving plans in order to reduce the risks of harming the building's structure.

According to Lan Wuji, general manager of Shen Lian Co Ltd, which is in charge of the moving project, the competition during the bidding process for the project was intense as 10 companies had attempted to win the contract.

"The judging panel was very strict with every candidate's plans for the project," Lan said, as it required each company to submit at least three different options.

Under the plan chosen, the concert hall was separated from its base and then jacks were put under the building to hoist it in the air. Once pushed to its new home, it will be set down.

Actuant China Ltd is providing the machinery and technical support for the project.

According to Dong Xiulin, the company's chief engineer, 59 hydraulic cylinders were carefully laid under the building, which worked as jacks in the lifting process.

This operation was the result of months of meticulous calculation and examination of the building's structure, Dong said.

The cylinders were controlled by one computer terminal and the movement error in between the 59 points was designed to be within 0.2 millimeters.

"It is an unprecedented project for Actuant," Dong said.

"Most of the technology and software used in the project are brand-new and unique, so while working on the project, we are also applying patents for them."

Miao added: "Every time the building is lifted 100 millimeters, the experts from Tongji University will check the whole structure to guarantee even the slightest bit of damage isn't done."

After the entire undertaking is completed, the concert hall will be the only building inside an expansive lawn area in downtown Shanghai.

"Listening to classical music in a Baroque-style building surrounded by lush trees and a vast stretch of grassland will give everyone who visits the Shanghai Concert Hall unforgettable memories," Miao said.

(China Daily May 19, 2003)