China plans to protect Tibetan cultural relics

Lhasa: China will spend over 1.7 billion yuan (about $269 million) to protect the cultural relics in the country`s Tibetan region, an official said Thursday.

The money will be spent on protecting historical sites, construction of conservation facilities and building of museums by 2015, according to Sangpo, director of the region`s Cultural Relics Bureau. Some of Tibet`s cultural sites include the Potala Palace, Norbu Lingka Palace and Sagya Monastery in Lhasa. It also has 4,277 immovable cultural relics, Xinhua reported. The region`s tourism revenue last year totalled 9.7 billion yuan, up 35.8 percent year-on-year. Tourism is an important industry for the region. IANS