With joint government funding from China and Switzerland, the
maintenance project on the Ramoche Monastery in Tibet?Autonomous
Region?has been completed and passed the appraisal of
specialists, local official sources said.
It is the first governmental cooperation on Tibetan cultural
heritage protection between China and Switzerland, according to
Xiao Yuanchun, director of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage of
Lhasa.
The project was started on April 15 this year, and an official
ceremony will be held soon to mark the completion, Xiao said.
The Swiss government invested 200,000 Swiss francs (about
US$150,000) for the maintenance of the depository of Buddhist
scriptures and parts of the golden roves of the lamasery, Xiao
said.
Ramoche Monastery, located in Lhasa, capital of southwest
China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is a major temple of Tibetan
Buddhism built in the seventh century, the same era when the Potala
Palace and the Jokhang Temple were constructed. The temple is under
state-level protection since 2001.
The Chinese government plans to put another 7 million yuan
(US$875,000) between 2006 and 2008 for an overhaul of the Ramoche
Monastery, Xiao said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2005)