China to help Myanmar renovate quake-hit ancient pagodas

A photo taken on Sept. 21, 2016 shows the damaged Dhamma-ya-za-ka Pagoda in Bagan, an ancient city in central Myanmar. A 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar on Aug. 24, affecting Bagan and its 425 ancient pagodas and temples. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Li Fusheng]

A group of Chinese archeologists are in Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan to help with the restoration of the several hundred pagodas which were damaged in an earthquake last month.

As the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Pagan, Bagan now hosts over 3,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries which have been standing there for centuries.

But some 400 of them were damaged when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit the city nearly a month ago.

Yeaung is a tour guide working at one of the temples.

"There is a lot of damage in here. A lot of villages nearby Bagan are coming with donations. They donate bricks to repair the temple. The temples and pagodas are very important because so many people come to the temples to pray. The temples and pagodas are very ancient."

A group of 12 archeologists from neighboring China are also offering their help in the restoration work.

Zhao Qiang, Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics Protection, is leading the Chinese team. He and his teammates have visited 8 damaged pagodas and temples over the past two days.

"This temple is the worst damaged among those we've visited. The structure is quite loose with a danger of collapse at any time. So I suggest a frame-supporting structure should be reinforced as soon as possible since the width of the cracks on it has reached a maximum of six to seven centimeters."

Hong Liang is the Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar, who helped facilitate the cooperation.

"Chinese experts have contributed a lot to the successful restoration of world renowned sites such as the Chau Say Tevoda temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which has received wide acknowledgement. The Chinese expert team is willing to work closely with the Myanmar side and UNESCO on damage assessment and preliminary planning for the restoration of the pagodas and temples."

Hong Liang also notes the Chinese side has donated and will continue to come up with more capital and material aid for the restoration, which is expected to last two to three years.