The 11th Panchen Lama on Tuesday visited Jokhang Temple and led a prayer service in the monastery considered the most revered in Lhasa -- the "holy city" of Tibetan Buddhism.

The 11th Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, arrived at Jokhang Temple around 6 a.m., greeted by lamas dressed in crimson robes and holding Tibetan prayer flags, or hada, a long, scarf-like white silk used by the Tibetans for blessings.

The Panchen Lama visited the major halls of the temple, paid homage and presented his own hada to statues of Buddhas, especially Jokhang's house treasure -- a life-sized statue of Buddha Sakyamuni as a 12-year-old, which was brought to the temple by Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century.

It was before this statue in November 1995 that the current Panchen Lama, whose secular name is Gyaencaen Norbu, was chosen as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Erdeni through the traditional method of drawing lots from a golden urn. He was six years old then.

On Tuesday, the Panchen Lama led a 30-minute sutra-chanting service with more than 100 lamas at the temple, praying for prosperity and stability. It was followed by a head-touching ritual to bless the lamas.

The Panchen Lama began this year's Lhasa visit on Monday. In 2010, he made a highly-publicized Tibet tour, including visits to Jokhang and other top monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism.

The 22-year-old serves as the vice president of the Buddhist Association of China and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body.

China upholds religious freedom and pours huge investment every year to preserve religious rites and cultural relics.

On Tuesday, Lhasa city authorities said investment spent on cultural heritage preservation in the city had topped 415 million yuan (65.35 million U.S. dollars) in the past five years.

More than 90 percent of the investment came from the central government, said officials with the Lhasa municipal cultural heritage protection bureau.

Major projects have included the repair of centuries-old monasteries like Drepung and Sera and preservation of cultural relics in the monasteries.

The government will later this year start to renovate the imposing outdoor mural of Jokhang -- about 4,000 square meters in size -- an unprecedentedly large project, officials said.