Elevation of Yuzhen Palace breaks world record

The elevation project of Yuzhen Palace on the Wudang Mountains was completed on the afternoon of July 16. The gate of the palace reached a height of 15 meters, an elevation height four times higher than the world record.

Dai Zhanbiao, head of the project, noted that the elevation of the east and west gates were completed on July 9 and 13, respectively. The following work will require pouring concrete into the steel piers, weighing 80 kilograms each, to take the place of the dozen dismantled jacks. The pouring work is expected to finish at the end of February.

According to Dai, the elevation project of Yuzhen Palace began on August 1, 2012. The palace gates and mountain gates will be elevated one after another. The 1.5-meter elevation of the east and west palace gates can be done within two days. It only took one day to elevate the mountain gates. The gates can be lifted 0.5 meters every day on average.

Yuzhen Palace was built by the Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in 1412 in honor of the Taoist Zhang Sanfeng. After the elevation of the Danjiangkou reservoir dam, which serves as a water source for the Middle Route Project of the South - North Water Diversion plan, Yuzhen Palace was in danger of being submerged. As a result, the mountain gates, the glazed walls and the east and west palace gates of Yuzhen Palace are being elevated to keep the ancient cultural relics intact.

The restoration project of Yuzhen Palace will begin after completion of the elevation project and water storage tests. Yuzhen Palace will be surrounded by water on three sides when construction finishes. It will cost about 200 million yuan ($32.1 million).

Elevation of Yuzhen Palace breaks world record