Protection of Tibetan Cultural Relics

　　Monasteries are considered by many to be the most magnificent aspect of Tibetan culture. They are found everywhere, in towns, villages, valleys and on plains. The mysterious monasteries are the holy places cherished by the Tibetans, places for everyday religious activity, valuable elements of the history and heritage of the region, and symbols of the Tibetan ethnic group, Tibetan history and Tibetan culture. With unique sculptures, murals and rock paintings, the monasteries vividly display Tibet to the outside world.

　　Unfortunately, exposure to the weather, together with natural and man-made calamities, has endangered many precious historical relics.

　　The state has always attached importance to the preservation of cultural relics. Signed on May 13, 1951, The Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, also known as The 17-Article Agreement, provides for the institutionalized "respect for the Tibetans' religious beliefs and customs and the protection of all lamaseries."

　　In line with those policies and regulations of the central government aimed at strengthening the protection of cultural relics, the government of Tibet Autonomous Region passed The Decisions on Strengthening Cultural Relics Archival Work, officially placing the management of cultural relics under government administration.

　　The State Council promulgated The Interim Regulations on the Administration of Cultural Relics Protection in 1961 and declared the first group of 180 cultural relics units under state protection, 5 percent of which are in Tibet. In 1981, the Tibet Autonomous Region People's Government summarized its practices and drew up The Decisions on Strengthening Cultural Relics Management.

　　On November 19, 1982, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics. According to its basic principles, the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress adopted The Regulations of Tibet Autonomous Region on the Administration of Cultural Relics Protection on May 31, 1991, which was the first administrative statute on the protection of cultural relics in Tibetan history. In 1993, the Tibet Autonomous Region People's Government promulgated The Decisions on Further Strengthening Cultural Relics Management, demanding organs of power and administrative departments at all levels strengthen the management of cultural relics protection. The regional government formulated The Measures for the Management of the Potala Palace to strengthen the government's authority over cultural relics management. These laws and regulations have provided a legal basis for Tibet's protection of historical relics.

　　Furthermore, Tibet Autonomous Region has also set up a special organization for the preservation of cultural relics. The Cultural Relics Archives Administration Committee was founded in 1959. The committee included historical relics management groups and was the first administrative department for the management of cultural relics in Tibet's history. In 1964, it was expanded into the Tibet Autonomous Region Cultural Relics Management Committee. In 1995, the Cultural Relics Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region was established. The bureau directly manages museums cultural relics warehouses, the Potala Palace and the Norbu Lingka Administrative Office.
m a n a g e 5 m u 5 e u m 5 cultural relics warehouses, the Potala Palace and the Norbu Lingka Administrative Office.

　　Cultural relics management committees were set up in Shannan, Xigaze and Ngari prefectures and Lhasa City in the 1980s. As temples under state protection, Jokhang, Zhebung, Sera and Sagya monasteries, together with the Zhaxi Lhunbo Lamasery, have their own cultural relics management groups in charge of the preservation and the management of their historical relics.

　　To strengthen protection over Tibetan cultural relics, the state has attached importance to the training of Tibetan experts. A large group of young Tibetans willing to take up the work of historical relics have been sent to study in colleges in the hinterland. They have returned to work in Tibet after graduation. Moreover, a large number of inland graduates having an ardent love for cultural relics have taken jobs in Tibet. Now, Tibet has dozens of specialists in cultural relics preservation with senior technical titles and hundreds of professionals, thus forming a capable team.

　　Tibet's cultural relics are numerous and widely distributed, including tombs and stone carvings. Monasteries are not only units under state protection but also places where people practice religious rites. To protect these historical relics, the Tibet Cultural Relics Bureau has carried out various activities to protect cultural relics. It publicizes cultural relics protection laws and knowledge by resorting to modern mass media. Meanwhile, it cooperates with the Tibet Public Security Bureau and the Customs to crack down on cultural relics smuggling and theft so that it can protect historical relics by taking legal measures.

　　Tibet has held cultural relics exhibitions in such major cities as Beijing and Guangzhou. As China has opened to the world, Tibet's cultural relics have been exhibited in Argentina, France, Japan, Italy and elsewhere and have been warmly received by foreigners.

　　After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, many scientific investigations have been conducted regarding historical relics. During the 1980s and 1990s, the known collections of Tibetan cultural relics were surveyed. Tibet has 1,720 historical sites, including 60 sites dating to the Stone Age, 20 sites with ancient cliff paintings, 240 sites with ancient tombs and 1,000 sites with ancient buildings. The survey has offered a scientific basis for the preservation of Tibet's cultural relics.

　　Under the authority of the State Council, Tibet has 18 cultural relics units under state protection. These include the Potala Palace, the Jokhang, Gandain and Sagya monasteries, the Qangdin and Zhaxi Lhunbo lamaseries, and Norbu Lingka and the ruins of the Guge Kingdom. Lhasa, Xigaze and Gyangze have been listed as historical and cultural cities. Their development blueprints will be planned according to the principles of cultural relics preservation.

　　In order to strengthen the protection of historical relics and the renovation of important ancient buildings, the state has invested more than hundreds of millions yuan. The Potala Palace renovation project (October 1989 - August 1994) is a magnificent feat in the protection of Tibetan cultural relics and a model for China's ancient building renovation. In December of 1994, UNESCO included the Potala Palace on its list of World Cultural Heritage Sites.

　　The Tibet Museum opened on October 1, 1999. This large museum was designed to collect, exhibit, and protect Tibetan historical relics. It adopts a modern acoustic-optic system, displaying the achievements of Tibetan archeological work and cultural relics. The exhibition is divided into four sections-Prehistory Culture, An Inseparable Part of China, Culture and Art, and Folk Culture - fully showing that Tibetan culture is a wonderful component of Chinese culture.