The Yellow River Museum in Zhengzhou, Henan province, has been relocated 101.7 meters to the east to make way for construction of the city’s Metro network. The construction started on May 18 and finished on Dec 24. The museum will be moved back to its original site after the Metro construction is completed.

Three projects of the museum’s relocation were proposed in the planning stage, including monolithic movement of the whole building and reconstructing after protective demolition. The third plan was adopted by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in the end, which integrated the first two. The main museum building was shifted by an incremental launching method. At the same time, the annexes were dismantled, with the tiles and timbers numbered and preserved.

The museum, built in 1955, is a museum of science and technology with the harnessing and developments of Yellow River as its special theme. It’s also one of the world’s oldest museums dedicated to a river. The project is estimated to have cost 2 million RMB and another 5 million in restoration.