LHASA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Restoration work at three major cultural relic sites in Tibet will be completed this year, said a local official Wednesday.

    With an investment of 300 million yuan (about 44 million U.S. dollars), the government has carried out restoration work at Potala Palace, Norbulinka, the world's highest garden architectural structure and the former summer palace of the Dalai Lama, and the Sayga Monastery, the chief monastery of the Sayga Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Photo taken on March 21, 2009, shows Tibetan workers repairing the fence wall of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The renovation began in 2002. Of 166 projects at the three sites, 150 have already been completed. The final 16 are scheduled for completion this year, said Nyima Cering, who is in charge of the repair work.

    Potala Palace and Norbulinka are on the world cultural heritage list. Polata Palace was built in the 7th century. The Sayga Monastery is a protected national heritage site.

    The final 16 projects will cost 104.71 million yuan (about 15.33 million U.S. dollars). They include maintenance of the original headquarters of the Tibetan army at the foot of Potala Palace, plumbing and water-proof project at the Norbulinka and the repair of the wall and quarters in the Sayga Monastery.

    Construction on the six projects began in April, said Nyima Cering.

    China has vowed to make heritage protection a priority since it became a member of UNESCO's cultural heritage protection convention in 1989.

Some 200 pieces of relics excavated in central China

A Chinese archaeologist showcases a bronze mirror with inscriptions at the excavation site of an ancient tomb possibly dated to the early stage of 8 A.D.-220 A.D. at Jiaozuo city in central China's Henan province April 7, 2009. The archaeologists have unearthed some 200 pieces of cultural relics since the end of March 2009, including bronze mirrors, iron swords, gallipots and pottery dressing cases. (Xinhua/Yang Fan)

Last renovation projects for Tibet's major cultural relics start 

    BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The last batch of renovation projects for Tibet's three major cultural relics, namely Potala Palace, Norbu Lingka and the Sakya Monastery, began in early April.

    After these projects were launched in 2002, most of the sub-projects were completed. Full story

Relics renovation promotes employment in Tibet  

    BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The projects to renovate the Potala Palace, Norbu Lingka and Sakya Monastery, launched in 2002, have employed over 30,000 persons-time labor of local farmers and herdsmen, offering them 28 million yuan in cash income, according to the Tibet Bureau of Cultural Relics.

    "Preliminary statistics show that since 2002, 30,000 farmers and herdsmen have worked on the projects," Yu Dawa, director of the Regional Bureau of Cultural Relics. Full story