The cost of the damage done to the temple and the mountain is estimated at 1.2 billion yuan ($173 million).

Like the Dujiangyan irrigation project, which was built around 256 BC, Mount Qingcheng has been on the United Nations' World Cultural Heritage List since 2000.

The reconstruction of the temple and Mount Qingcheng is expected to start soon as Shan Jixiang, chief of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, pledged financial support for it during his visit to Dujiangyan on May 19.

"The administration has promised to provide all the money needed to rebuild the temple in line with its original style," Cui Wei, an information officer with the Dujiangyan irrigation project administrative bureau, said.

Both the temple and the mountain are closed. The earliest time for their reopening might be next year, Wang Qing, vice-mayor of Dujiangyan, said.

On May 29, the Chengdu municipal planning bureau and the Dujiangyan municipal government jointly issued a notice inviting designers from around the world to submit their designs for the reconstruction of the city.

Forty-seven domestic and overseas design institutions and universities submitted entries and 10 were chosen.

On Tuesday, more than 80 experts from the 10 institutions and universities from China, France, Britain, the United States and Japan visited the Erwang Temple, Mount Qingcheng and the city's old and new urban quarters. They also spoke with local government officials and experts.

They will finish their ideas by the middle of next month and city authorities will then combine the best points from each to create a finished design, Wang Songtao, an official with the Chengdu municipal planning bureau, said.

(China DailyJune 12, 2008)