JINAN -- The entire structure of a 19th-century building was moved more than 70 meters horizontally on Wednesday in an engineering feat aimed at better protecting this historic structure, in Jinan, East China's Shandong province.

Weighing 2,600 tonnes, the three-storey mansion was lifted from the ground by 10 trailer-like machines, which carried the structure to its new site.

The entire "relocation" operation took about one and a half hours.

Proponents of the relocation said the original site was low-lying and prone to flooding in rainy seasons. The new location is also closer to the main road, making the building more "conspicuous."

A cultural heritage site in Jinan, the building was erected around 1893 with a floor area of 1,700 square meters, combining both Chinese and Western architectural styles.

According to local history researchers, the building has changed its roles several times over the years. Once a women's school sponsored by the Catholic Church, it was later used for other purposes before it is managed by the local education authority in recent decades and is the location where the test papers for the Gaokao, or China's college entrance exams, are printed, making it a memorable place for hard-working high-school students.

"Besides its architectural features, the stories that the building brings with it, and the local citizens' love for the building, are all reasons why we must strengthen its protection," said Zhang Xin, a professor of Shandong Jianzhu University.