A Chinese investment firm on Thursday announced plans to resurrect London's Crystal Palace, once the largest glass structure in the world.
The planned £500 million ($800 million, 600 million euro) re-creation by the ZhongRong Group is on the same size and scale as Joseph Paxton's original cast iron and plate glass masterpiece.
The Crystal Palace was built in central London's Hyde Park for the 1851 Great Exhibition of wonders from across the globe, but moved to a hilltop dominating south London in 1854.
The building, a marvel of the Victorian age, burnt down in 1936, although the area is still known as Crystal Palace.
The Italian-style terraces on which it stood are now empty and grassed over.
The plans involve turning the site into a major new cultural destination and restoring the surrounding 180-acre (73-hectare) public park through landscaping, planting and new facilities.
"London is renowned across the world for its history and culture and the former Crystal Palace is celebrated in China as a magnificent achievement," said ZhongRong Group chairman Ni Zhaoxing.
"This project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring its spirit back to life by recreating the Crystal Palace and restoring the park to its former glory."
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