BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The world-famous Potala Palace in Tibet's capital of Lhasa received 782,500 tourists and Buddhist believers last year, 62 percent more than in 2008, according to the Regional Cultural Relics Bureau.
The palace was designated by the UNESCO as a member of the world cultural heritage in 1994.
File photo shows the exterior of the Potala Palace, a world-famous cultural heritage in Lhasa, capital of Tibet. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Yudawa, director of the bureau, said that Norbu Lingka, another best-known scenic spot in Lhasa, was visited by 470,800 people in 2009, a 72.4 percent increase year on year.
Meanwhile, the Treasure Hall of the Potala Palace and the Tibet Museum have atttracted 28,000 and 89,000 visitors, respectively, since they opened to public in August last year.
Tibet's cultural relics and museums were visited by more people in 2009, thanks to Tibet's rapidly-developing tourism industry.
Statistics from the bureau show that Tibet's cultural relics and museums, including the Potala Palace, had received a record four million tourists by the end of October in 2009.
The Chinese Central Government had spent 200 million yuan renovating twice the Potala Palace, with the second renovation completed last year.
Tibet began in 2003 to limit the daily number of visitors to the Potala Palace to 2,300 in a bid to better protect the cultural heritage.
