Sakya Temple at Sixian county in Anhui province, which had a history that stretched back more than 900 years and was listed as a cultural heritage site in 1981, has been demolished to make way for real estate development, according to the report.

Many historical relics in China are at risk of being destroyed by the flourishing construction industry.

The third National Cultural Relics Census showed more than 30,000 heritage sites had disappeared by the end of 2009, Beijing News reported on Tuesday.

Sakya Temple at Sixian county in Anhui province, which had a history that stretched back more than 900 years and was listed as a cultural heritage site in 1981, has been demolished to make way for real estate development, according to the report.

It was also reported that the county bureau of land and resources sold the 1.7 hectares on which the temple stood at auction in 2007 for 11.5 million yuan ($1.7 million) after the local government decided to use this State-owned land for development.

"It is ironic that this happened in what is supposed to be a culturally-developed county," said Min Lin, a retired official at the local administration of cultural heritage, in reference to the Ministry of Culture having named Sixian county as "the land of Chinese folk culture and art".

The land was sold without the permission of the administration of cultural heritage. The property developer also carried on with the construction project after having been notified in 2008 that it was a protected site, an insider told Beijing News.