To restore the historical image of Beijing as an ancient capital, cultural relics protection authorities are to renovate the capital's four major imperial sacrificial sites.

The four altars the Temple of Heaven, the Altar of the Earth, the Altar of the Sun and the Altar of the Moon, played an important part in the ritual life of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) emperors.

Part of Beijing's Humanistic Olympics blueprint, the altars' repairs project aims to highlight the ancient city's cultural legacy and find a proper balance between development and preservation, Mei Ninghua, director of Beijing's Cultural Heritage Bureau, said on Friday.

Repairs have already begun in the Altar of the Moon or Yuetan in the city's Xicheng District.

Built in 1530, the roughly 8-hectare Altar of the Moon was the site of imperial sacrifices to the God of the Moon.

However, in the past decades, bushes and fruit trees have been planted here, transforming the old temple into a public park. In 1969, a 180-metre television broadcasting tower was erected in the park, taking up about one-eighth of the total space of the park, said Wang Jun, an official with the Xicheng District Gardening Bureau.

The repair project will give the park a facelift, rebuild damaged constructions including the wall of the altar, the square, white marble sacrifice platform, the sacrifice routes in the park and many ancient houses, said Wang , whose bureau is in charge of the restoration project.

Beijing municipal government and Xicheng district government have jointly earmarked 190 million yuan (US$23 million) to the Yuetan Park project, which also includes moving away the broadcasting tower and upgrading the park's environment. Four institutes and 178 households near the altar will be moved to other places to make way for the altar wall and grassed areas.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Restoration of the other three altars will begin later this year, officials said.

Research and studies on repair of the Temple of Heaven, the Altar of the Earth and the Altar of the Sun are ongoing, they said.

(China Daily September 25, 2004)