国内英语新闻:Indian president inaugurates Buddhist hall in Chinese temple

ZHENGZHOU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Indian President Pratibha Patil on Saturday visited an ancient Buddhist temple in central China that is believed to be the starting point for Buddhism's spread from India into China.

Patil toured the White Horse Temple in Luoyang City, Henan Province, accompanied by the temple's abbot Shi Yinle, and inaugurated an Indian-style Buddhist hall as a gift to China.

A Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) emperor ordered the construction of the temple in honor of two Indian monks and horses that carried Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues from India to the then capital Luoyang in 67 AD.

During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India in 2005, the two countries agreed to build the Indian-style hall in the temple to commemorate the long history of bilateral ties.

The 3,450-sq-m hall was funded by the Indian government and constructed by the Chinese side, the first of its kind outside of India.

Wang Zhizhen, vice chairwoman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, also attended the inauguration ceremony.

Following the visit, Patil left Henan for the ongoing World Expo in Shanghai, the last leg of her week-long state visit to China.

During her visit, the two sides agreed to boost cultural exchange and people-to-people contact.