A historic stele under state protection was damaged in the earthquake which hit Zhaosu County of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Monday.

Though the stele still stands erect on Gedeng Mountain after the earthquake, the epicenter of which was only 20 kilometers away, gravel and cracked tiles can be seen around the stele and the roof of the pavilion protecting the stele was totally ruined, said a local archaeologist.

Built in 1760, the Gedeng stele was to commemorate the military success of the royal army of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) over the insurgence of Junggar, a minority tribe who had submitted to the Qing royalty.

The eulogy on the military feats, written by Qianlong, one of the most famous emperors of the Qing Dynasty, was inscribed on the stele in four languages of Manchu, Chinese Han, Mongolian and Tibetan.

The 2.95 meter-tall stele was engraved on the top with a coiling dragon, the mythic animal symbolizing ancient Chinese emperors. And a rising sun from the sea was engraved on the pedestal.

The specific damages to the stele are still to be appraised by the local archaeological department.

Ten people were killed in the unexpected earthquake, which measured 6.1 on the Richter scale, toppling 702 residential rooms and seriously damaging 487 residential rooms, with the direct economic losses estimated at more than 16 million yuan (US$1.9 million).
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2003)