BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A top official from southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region said on Wednesday the Tibetan people will not be assimilated by the Han culture.

    Of the 2.8 million residents in Tibet, 92 percent are of Tibetan nationality, 5 percent Han nationality and the other 3 percent of other ethnic origin, said Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the regional government.

    "The customs and traditional festivals also remain unchanged after millions of tourists flock there following the central government's large amount investment in the region," said the official at a press conference held in Beijing.

    "Today I wear a suit instead of the traditional costume of Tibetan because it is more convenient in daily life. This should not be held as evidence of 'Hanizing'. The Han people don't wear long robes either," he said.

    "There are more than 1,700 religious sites and over 40,000 monks and nuns living in monasteries throughout the region. Various religious activities are held regularly," he said.

    The region also plans to allocate hundreds of millions yuan to maintain and renovate a group of world heritage sites and major cultural relics in the next five years, said the official.

    "It's the Tibetan people who directly benefit from the investment," he said.

    Tibetan have seen improvement in housing and they now have easy access to electricity and clean drinking water, and Tibetan kids enjoy free education, thanks to the financial support from the central government and other provinces in the country, said the official.

    The central government of China will invest 77.8 billion yuan in 180 projects in Tibet in the 2006-2010 period to improve infrastructure and the living conditions of farmers and herders.