Tuesday, January 02, 2001, updated at 09:14(GMT+8)
Life
World's Largest Copper Bell Positioned in Central China
A 108-ton copper bell, 8.1 meters high and 5 meters in diameter, was put into place at a tourist site in central China's Henan Province at dawn Monday
The "bell of propitious" is said to be he largest of its kind in the world, both in terms of weight and size.
A total of 56 auspicious patterns are inscribed around the middle part of the bell, representing the 56 ethnic groups of China. The epigraph with some 666 Chinese characters recalls the history of China, and also records the essence of President Jiang Zemin's recent speeches.
The bell has high-class acoustic characteristics and the bell-ring can last up to 3 minutes, according to experts.