Builders slide building on ice to new home

Builders in northern China took advantage of a cold snap to move a historic building down the road - by sliding it on the ice.

The 110-year-old structure in Anda, Heilongjiang province, had to move 240 metres down the road to make way for a new railway line.

So builders made use of of the region's freezing winter to lay a carpet of ice under the building to simply slide it to its new home.

"We spray water underneath the structure and along its route until we get an ice bed that is thick enough to support the building," explained project director Lee Wan.

"Then it is simply a matter of inserting some very large rollers and sliding the whole thing along very slowly, and very carefully," he added.

So far, the building has slid 150 metres towards its new site, with just 90 metres left to go.

"It has taken us two weeks to get this far so we should be finished in a few days," explained Lee.

"This is a very old, delicate structure so it can't be rushed," he added.