Temperature changes damage Summer Palace statues: park authority
BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Fluctuating temperatures have damaged several Buddha statues in Beijing's famous Summer Palace, park authorities said Tuesday.
Photos of Buddha statues whose heads went missing went viral on the internet over the weekend, sparking speculation that they may have been decapitated by vandals.
But the park's management said temperature changes caused the heads to expand and contract, eventually loosening them from the statues.
Park spokeswoman Li Kun dismissed vandalism as the cause, adding that the park regularly patrols the area around the statues.
The heads have been found, but are too damaged to re-attach to the statues, Li said, adding that new heads will be attached to the statues within the next three months.
颐和园回应“佛头脱落”：缘于冷热膨胀不均 三个月可修复
新华网北京7月29日电(马岩)针对网上“颐和园佛香阁外墙佛头被‘斩首’”的传言，颐和园管理处29日回应称，佛头脱落的原因是佛头与佛龛冷热膨胀不均，三个月内可完全修复。
近日，一则“颐和园佛香阁外墙佛头被‘斩首’”的消息出现在网络上，并伴有一组照片，迅速引起了网友的广泛关注。颐和园管理处在回应中表示，网上消息所指的地点是智慧海墙外壁，而非佛香阁，佛头脱落的原因是佛头与佛龛冷热膨胀不均。
网络照片呈现的是一个琉璃佛像的特写，佛身呈黄色，雕刻细致，衣褶清晰可见，胸前戴着佛珠粒粒可数，手捧蓝绿色宝瓶。但是，佛头已不见，留下了一块灰色的印记。网友纷纷对这组照片发表评论，其中相当一部分网友认为佛头受到了“人为破坏”。
对于“佛头遭人为破坏”的猜测，颐和园管理处宣传干部李昆予以澄清。她介绍，据颐和园园史记载，智慧海墙外壁的原有佛头在1900年八国联军入侵时遭到大面积损毁，现有佛头均为新中国成立后添补，1982年和2006年又进行了两次大规模修缮。由于原琉璃佛龛年代久远，胎体酥松，新添佛头与原琉璃佛龛遇冷热膨胀不均，脱落现象时有发生，此前就发生过多次。
李昆表示，这些佛像一直受到颐和园管理处的重点监控，工作人员会定期巡视修补，不可能是人为破坏。脱落的佛头已经被找到，但由于坠落后破损严重，已不具有回粘的意义。颐和园管理处已依照原样订制新佛头，三个月内即可完全修复。
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