Renovation of major Tibetan Buddhist monastery to be completed

After almost eight years, renovation of Labrang Monastery in Northwest China's Gansu province has come near to completion, with the main body and frescos of 14 Buddha halls restored, local authorities said Thursday.

The next step is to renovate two more Buddha halls and recolor the paintings on the columns and other parts of the halls involved in the renovation project, said Sonam Gya, who is in charge of protecting the monastery's artifacts. Currently, six halls have been recolored.

The project, which began in 2012, focused on reinforcing structural elements, restoring paintings and frescos, as well as improving safety in this Tibetan Buddhist monastery, one of the largest temples of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

The government has so far invested nearly 400 million yuan (about $56.4 million) in the renovation project, said Sonam Gya.

"We didn't change the original state of these cultural relics, and tried our best to preserve their authenticity, integrity and engage in minimal intervention during restoration. There are very rigid criteria on the hardness, humidity and antiseptic treatment of the wood and stone materials used to renovate the relics," said Sonam Gya.

Located in Xiahe county in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Gannan, Labrang Monastery was built in 1709 and has been a major national cultural protection site since 1982.

Sprawling across an area of more than 800,000 square meters, Labrang Monastery is famed for its architecture. It currently has six Buddhist colleges, 84 Buddha halls and more than 500 monks' houses. This renovation project is the first large-scale overall renovation of the temple since it was built.

Over more than 300 years, the monastery has suffered several fires, and its mud and wood structure is in urgent need of reinforcement.

"China pays considerable attention to the protection of religious relics, which reflects Chinese laws and policies' respect for religious cultures and the freedom of religious belief," said Wang Yanzhong, director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.