| 68. What has been done to protect cultural relics in Tibet? | |
A: Since Tibet's Democratic Reform, the Central People's Government has paid great attention to the protection of Tibet's cultural relics. In June 1959, the Tibet Records Management Committee of Cultural Relics and Historical Sites was set up, which has since collected and protected large amounts of cultural relics and archives. In 1984, the modern Archives of Tibet Autonomous Region was built to reinforce archive administration.
Important sites, such as the Potala Palace, the Jokhang and Galdan monasteries, the Tomb of the Tibetan King, and the Zongshan anti-British invasion site in Gyangze, have been listed as China's key cultural relics for state protection. Tibet currently has 18 key cultural relics under state protection, three state-level historic and cultural cities, 64 cultural relics under regional protection, and over 20 under county-level protection.
Like other parts of China, many cultural relics in Tibet were ruined during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1979). Since 1976, the government has stepped up its protection of cultural relics. Between 1989 and 1994, the Central People's Government allocated 55 million yuan and a large amount of gold and silver for the renovation of the Potala Palace, the largest cultural relic protection project ever. In May 1994, experts sent by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to inspect the newly repaired Potala palace commented that the renovation was of an advanced international standard, that the project was a "miracle in the history of protection of ancient buildings," and "a great contribution to the preservation of Tibetan culture, as well as the culture of the world." From 1994 to 1997, the Central People's Government invested nearly 100 million yuan in the construction of the Tibet Museum. The museum covers an area of 52,479 square meters, with a floor space of 21,000 square meters, and is one of the few modernized museums in China.
In 1965 the People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region established the regional Cultural Relics Administrative Committee, which is responsible for the protection and administration of cultural relics in Tibet. Since the 1980s, Tibet has promulgated a series of laws and stipulations for the protection of cultural relics, and the amount of staff engaged in cultural relic protection has steadily increased. Currently, Tibet has over 270 archaeologists, 95 percent of them Tibetan. They have made remarkable achievements in archaeological work, and have meanwhile conducted a general survey of cultural relics in Tibet, providing basis for future endeavors in archaeological work and the protection of cultural relics. |
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