Tibetans finish renovation of Potala palace
Monday 24 August 2009
Printable
EmailChinese state media has announced that workers have completed a 300 million yuan (£26.6 million) seven-year renovation of the Potala palace in Tibet Autonomous Region.
The Xinhua state news agency explained that the the project is part of a 570 million yuan (£44.2m) government plan to promote Tibetan culture and language in the remote region as it develops its economy, of which tourism forms a major part.
More than 189,000 workers were reportedly involved and the government also spent 94.74 million yuan (£57.4m) repairing the Sagya monastery, which houses classical Buddhist texts.
A former director of the Potala's administration office said that the palace can now accommodate 1,000 visitors a day.
Elsewhere, over 200 people are expected to go on trial this week for their role in sectarian riots last month that killed nearly 200 people in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
The trials will take place in Urumqi, the site of China's worst sectarian bloodletting in decades, in which another 1,700 people were injured.
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