Tashilhunpo Temple, the largest temple in Shigatse City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo: CRI Online]
China has allocated over 90 million yuan to repair temples in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region which were damaged as a result of the massive earthquake a year ago which was centred on Nepal.
Among them, the Phagpa Gompa in Gyirong County of Shigatse City was the nearest to the epicenter.
The 13 hundred year old temple was already facing many problems before the earthquake, and repair work was already underway at the time of the earthquake.
Much of the existing damage to the wooden structure and wall paintings was aggravated due to the disaster.
Tenzin Norbu, director of Cultural Relics Bureau of Gyirong County, says urgent reinforcement measures were undertaken after the quake.
"The wood here is seriously eaten away by insects. As you can see, the inside of the wood has almost become powder. The earthquake has worsened these problems, some of the wall paintings are cracked, some of them fell off the wall and some of them warped."
A new restoration project has now been approved for Phagpa Gompa with an increased funding of 8 million yuan.
So far there are 66 cultural relic repair projects in Shigatse City with a total appropriation of over 90 million yuan. The projects are due to start in July this year.
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