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With the intention of escaping the growing noise level from passing traffic, the 73-year-old Shanghai Music Hall began its move, consisting of a distance of 66.4 meters, into its new home at 10:00 on Apr.15.

According to the plan, the hall will first be lifted and placed on a concrete platform, then carried to its new location where it will be set down on a newly-built site. The entire move will take about 15 days.

Due to the hall's fragility and unique hollow structure, the moving company spent seven months preparing for the move in order to ensure the special protection of fragile parts. Experts will modify the moving plan in compliance with the information provided by monitors positioned in different parts of the hall, who will be able to detect any possible tiny structural change during the moving.

The structure will undergo the most intense pressure during the lifting period, which is the most essential to the whole moving process, thus people should pay meticulous attention to the initial stage of the move, said Miao Luming, general manager of the Shanghai Music Hall.

According to Miao, the move will be completed at the end of May. Following an additional seven-month period for functional repairs, the music hall will commence operations on Jan. 1 of 2004.

The Shanghai Music Hall, built in 1930, is a unique, well-preserved western architecture designed by the Chinese engineers, which is still cited as the best music hall because of its superb acoustic effects. The move is designed to preserve the acoustical quality.