Photo taken on Dec. 10, 2019 shows the west square of the new Hengqin port in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. After three years of construction, the new Hengqin port is ready for visitors to travel between Zhuhai and the Lotus port in Macao. (Photo: Xinhua)

The term "snail's pace" took on a new meaning in East China after it took 76 hours to move an object millions of times larger than a snail for 25 meters. 

The move involved a five-story government office, weighing more than 800,000 tons that was in the way of a new expressway on the outskirts of Jinan, Shandong Province.

It took 74 days of work to move the long concrete building laterally to the east 24.5 meters, which was determined to be a better solution than rerouting the road or demolishing and rebuilding the building.

While office workers continued to work in the building, the structure was first lifted onto wheels on a track. When the day of the move came the building rolled along the track at a speed of one centimeter an hour, according to a report by Beijing Youth Daily.  

Two aerial photos posted by China News Service apparently show the before and after locations of the building. 

Some netizens were skeptical that such a large, concrete structure could be levitated and moved, but officials said it took many weeks of preparations and a new foundation had to be built before the building was moved.