Life of Guangzhou - Asian Games Village to Set up Temporary Religious Service Center

On December 8, when reporting to Guangzhou's NPC members, Wang Dekun, Director of the Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs of Guangzhou the Municipality announced that the Bureau would make an effort to enlist the expansion of the Grand Buddha and Liurong Temples, as well as the construction of the Worship Hall of the Mausoleum of the Moslem Masters and its surroundings as part of the major project programs planned for the Asian Games City Plan. The rebuilding projects of Grand Buddha Temple and Liurong Temple will be completed before October 2010. At present, the removal volume of the Grand Buddha Temple has exceeded 65% of the total planned and the effort at the Liurong Temple is at 95% of that planned. At the same time, the subsidy funds for the construction of the Worship Hall for the Mausoleum of Moslem Masters and the renovation of the overall environment have been basically completed thus ensuring completion before the opening of the 2010 ASIAN Games.

Wang Dekun also remarked that, in response to the narrowness of the area, and problems with the area surrounding the Huaisheng Temple, the Bureau planned to propose that the Guangzhou Government build a new Moslem temple in the Baiyun District, where Moslem residents currently congregate, so as to reduce the concentration of Moslem worshippers in the old urban area.

The Bureau said that, to ensure a safe and steady conduct of the Asian Games, the Bureau had made a thorough survey of the religious sites in Guangzhou City. It identified 38 problems and worked out solutions to be implemented before 2010. It was learned that the Asian Games Village will set up a temporary religious service sites and a religious service center to serve the five major religions of participants as well as other religions.

It was also reported that the burial ground dedicated to the Hui nationality was has been saturated. In order to carry out a sound the exhumation policy for the 10 nationalities represented, the Hui nationality included, the Guangzhou Municipal Government has agreed to build a new Hui memorial park, which is currently selecting and planning a site.

[More Guangzhou News]