Part of stone pillar missing in the Summer Palace

Part of a carved stone column in the Summer Palace is missing, the Beijing News reported on Thursday.

Authorities cannot confirm whether the missing piece is a cultural relic.

Sixty white marble pillars stand on an ornamental fence in front of Hanxu Hall, which was rebuilt in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

On all the pillars, there are carved drawings, which are about 60 centimeters in height and 20 centimeters in diameter, depicting flying dragons amid clouds, representing the royal families that at the time ruled China.

One of the carved drawings is missing since January with a clear sign of having been cut from the pillar, the newspaper said.

The management authority of the palace said that they reported the missing piece to the police, yet they don't know its whereabouts or can confirm whether it was stolen or not.

The building went through a large-scale renovation in the 1950s, and the authority kept records of all stones and structural elements replaced. But as the stone fence is considered an auxiliary construction, there was no file recording information about it.

The authority estimated that the missing piece is probably a replica made before the 1960s, but the detailed date is yet to be confirmed.