The Central Government will set aside special subsidies for protection of key cultural relics, with 15 million yuan(2.301 million U.S. dollars) to be allocated for the conservation of Lhasa’s Xidelin Monastery starting from the end of March this year, Guangming reported.

Xidelin Monastery, located in Lhasa’s city proper was built in the 9th century. It was once the temporary imperial palace for Reting Rinpoche. After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, Xidelin Monastery was left damaged with all the remains of one-story building walls from the original two-story building.

According to the Tibet Autonomous Region Cultural Relics Bureau, this is the first time that such a large-scale conservation project will be conducted for the Xidelin Monastery over the last half century. Historical photos from the 1950s will be used as references to maintain the relic’s original appearance, shape and artistic style. Once renovation work is completed, the monastery will open to the public in the form of a museum and showcase intangible cultural heritages.