Buddhist culture relics damaged in China earthquake

BEIJING - Rare antiques belonging to the ancient Buddhist culture were destroyed in the devastating earthquake which killed more than 2,000 people in China.

Zen Monastery and Gyegu Monastery, the two key protected relics of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in China’s northwest Qinghai province, were seriously damaged in the last week’s 7.1-magnitude quake, said Guo Hong, deputy director of the provincial cultural heritage bureau.

The April 14 quake, which followed by at least 1,380 aftershocks in the past week, damaged more than 80 percent buildings including some heritage cites in the area, China Daily reported quoting a local newspapers.

The Gyegu Monastery, which dates back 2,000 years, saw one of its main assembly halls destroyed. The hall has a history of more than 500 years, the report said.

“A main assembly hall with a history of more than 500 years was just ruined and claimed the lives of eight monks,” manager of the hall was quoted as say ing by the Guangzhou Daily.

However, the famous cave temple of Princess Wencheng, situated at 60 metres from the epicentre, was not greatly affected, according to Ren Tiesheng, deputy director of the Qinghai seismological bureau.