Ancient Tibetan monastery reopens after refurbishment

LHASA - An ancient monastery in southwest China's Tibet autonomous region has reopened to the public after three years of refurbishment.

Toling Monastery, a state-level key cultural relics site in Zanda county of Ngari prefecture, was built in 996. It was one of the earliest monasteries built by the Guge Kingdom in Ngari.

There are a number of precious cultural relics in the monastery, including frescoes and buddha sculptures dating from the 14th and 15th centuries.

"The age-old buildings faced many problems because of the sun's rays, rain and wind erosion. To protect the monastery, China launched a refurbishment in 2015," said Loden, head of the county's cultural heritage administration.

A total of 83 million yuan (12.2 million US dollars) has been invested in the repair.

Loden said various halls and monks' bedrooms had been maintained over the past three years. A fire hazard system and reinforcement project were also launched in 2016.