The Confucian Temple and the adjacent Imperial College in downtown Beijing, both with a history of more than 700 years, will undergo the most complete repairs in more than half a century.

Two Beijing-based construction companies have won bids on the projects and the restoration will start later this year when the detailed plans are worked out.

According to the Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau, the projects will focus on restoring the original appearance of the two ancient compounds listed as the State-protected cultural heritage sites.

Tasks will mainly include clearing weeds from the roofs, repairing broken eaves, replacing the pavement with gray bricks, protecting all the stone sections from the weather and rehabilitating damaged paintings.

The last overhaul on the two ancient compounds was in the late 1930s.

In the past six decades, the Confucian Temple only received simple maintenance and several minor repairs, said Sun Wuyi, an official with the Capital Museum that occupies the temple.

Sun said the Capital Museum has chosen a new location along Chang'an Avenue and will move out of the temple next year, so the ancient temple can get a complete facelift and all its buildings, including some closed ones, will open to the public.

The situation is similar in the nearby Imperial College, which connects with the temple through a side gate.

The college was previously occupied by the Capital Library and did not undergo large-scale facelifts for decades. Since last year, the library has gradually moved out.

Both the Confucian Temple and the Imperial College were built in the early 14th century during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

The Confucian Temple was the main venue where emperors of the Yuan, Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties held state sacrificial rituals to honor Confucius.

Confucianism was the ideological foundation of China's feudal society, and has also had great influence worldwide.

The Imperial College is recognized as the highest official educational institution in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The college trained not only numerous Chinese intellectuals, but also a number of foreign students from countries such as Japan and Korea.

In another development, repairs to the 474-year-old imperial altar of Ditan have started in Beijing.

It is the most complete revamp made to the altar since 1949.

The repair project will cost 4 million yuan (US$480,000) and is expected to be completed by mid-2006.

Built in 1530, the roughly 43-hectare temple compound was the site where ancient Chinese emperors used to worship the God of Earth during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

(China Daily November 9, 2004)