Restaurant ordered to move out of historic temple

Beijing's cultural heritage authorities have ordered a restaurant to move out of a temple for relics preservation.

Citing fire risk concerns, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage Saturday ordered the relocation of the Jiliangju Restaurant built at the Temple of Agriculture by April 20.

The fire-prone lamp signboard set up by the restaurant was also ordered to be removed, according to the statement released on the official microblog website of the administration.

The administration launched an inspection Friday night following local media reports that the temple wall was damaged to build the restaurant, the statement said.

The investigation result showed that the temple transformed the wall to build a guard room while repairing it in 1990 after approval from authorities, and then leased the room to the restaurant. The restaurant, without fire fighting facilities, posed fire risk for the historic temple, it said.

Built in 1420, the Temple of Agriculture is an ancient complex where former emperors worshiped the god of farming.