A senior cultural heritage official said on Friday that more than 6 billion yuan ($866 million) will be required to restore relics damaged in seven areas by the May 12 earthquake.

"We will apply for special financial support from the central government as the losses were caused by natural disasters and mostly in relatively underdeveloped areas," State Administration of Cultural Heritage Director Shan Jixiang told a press conference in Beijing.

A total of 169 relics under State protection and 250 under provincial or municipal protection are known to have been severely damaged by the quake in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Shanxi and Hubei provinces, and Chongqing municipality.

Another 2,766 relics in museums, including 292 precious ones, were damaged by the

This photo, taken on Monday, shows some of the damage to the Erwang Temple, which is also known as the "Temple of Two Kings".

quake, according to the administration.

Noting that international assistance was welcome, Shan said: "We have received both funding and technical aid offers from overseas individuals and organizations, such as from Italy and France."

The official stressed that traditional materials would be used to ensure that the relics are restored to their pre-quake state.

Restoration and protection efforts will initially be focused on Dujiangyan, where a number of relics including two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, were severely damaged.

The Erwang Temple, or "Temple of Two Kings", which was built 2,000 years ago to honor Li Bing, the then governor of Sichuan, and his son for their contribution to the construction of Dujiangyan, the world's oldest irrigation project still in operation. It largely collapsed in the quake.

At Mount Qingcheng, the birthplace of Taoism, China's only indigenous religion, several ancient buildings are in danger of collapsing.

"Expert teams have already started an appraisal of the losses," Shan said. "Restoration and repair work will begin this month."

Apart from restoring the relics, work will also take place to ensure they are able to withstand any further natural disasters, the official pointed out.

During his visit to Beichuan county on May 22, Premier Wen Jiabao said that the ruins of the county town should be preserved as a museum.

Shan said the administration would give the highest-level protection to earthquake sites in Beichuan in order to build such a museum.

Experts from the administration have already started clearing the sites in Beichuan, paying attention to maintaining their authenticity and completeness.

So far, China only has two rather simple earthquake museums in Qinghai province and the city of Tangshan in Hebei province.

"The construction of the museum will require expertise in the fields of geology, planning, construction and social sciences," the official said.

(China Daily June 7, 2008)