Beijing authorities said on Tuesday they are investigating the legality of two high-class restaurants operating in two ancient temples in the capital.

The restaurants are houses in the Zhizhu and Songzhu temples of Beijing's Dongcheng District. They have a history of 600 years and 300 years, respectively.

Zhao Jianming, a law enforcement official with the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, said investigations are ongoing into whether the commercial catering activities have been approved or not.

The two temples were included in Beijing's list of cultural heritage protection sites in 1984. Under Chinese laws, such sites can not be used for businesses except with special approvals.

The bureau said recently that it plans to encourage non-government investment in the protection and restoration of the city's historical architecture this year.

Earlier media report said that the two ancient temples were reportedly reconstructed into high-end dining clubs which provided an amusement and social intercourse venue for the upper-class people.

The club is named Beijing Temple Restaurant. The operators of the club have no intention to conceal the special "identity" of the club, but take it as an advantage to attract clients.

According to the information collected from the Internet, customers have to pay 500 to 1,000 Yuan per person for one dinner in the club, and only the club members and customers reserved in advance can access to this high-end club.

The reconstruction of ancient temple into modern club has stirred heated discussion on the Internet. Many people criticized the behavior, holding the view that the old temple should be kept in its original style to present the authentic history to the public instead of becoming someone’s cash cow.

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