The beautiful stone lion sculptures on the 800-year-old Lugou
Bridge in southwestern Beijing recently received a health
check-up.
Conservators will submit a "health report" by the
end of this year to serve as a guideline for future protection work
on the exquisite lions, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
Lugou Bridge, recorded in the travelogue of Marco Polo, is
famous for its 485 lifelike carved stone lions.
When Marco Polo traveled to China during the Yuan Dynasty
(1271-1368), he described the bridge in vivid words: "Over the
river, there is an extremely beautiful stone bridge. Come to think
of it, it is indeed the most wonderful and unique bridge in the
world ..." he wrote.
But the artistic stone lions on the bridge balustrades are now
suffering damages due to weathering.
The examination on the health condition of the lions took
conservation experts two years to finish, and could serve as
preparations for future protection work, said an official with the
cultural relics department of Beijing's Fengtai District.
Conservators have found that the stone textures of the lions are
not the same, rendering some of the lions more vulnerable to
weathering than others.
"The bridge was refurbished and repaired many times in history,
and different stone materials were used, so there is a difference
in the texture of the stone lions," one official explained.
Experts are currently making final revisions to the "health
report." A trial protection project will be initiated to protect
the stone lions, in which conservators will try to solve the
weathering problem by spraying a protective chemical over the stone
lions. If this method proves a success, an action plan to save the
lions will be set up, according to the official.
The Lugou Bridge, 266.5 meters in length and 7.5 meters in
width, with 11 arches, was first built in 1189 over the Yongding
River south of Beijing.
The lion cubs on the bridge vary from a few millimeters to a
dozen millimeters in size. Often half hidden, they have proven
difficult to count.
(CRI December 27, 2007)