A comprehensive collection of ancient books on traditional Tibetan medicine and astronomy was released on Tuesday in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The collection includes photocopies of 130 volumes of ancient books, selected from more than 1,000 volumes collected over the past two years, said Yexe Yangzom, deputy director of the regional Tibetan hospital, which headed the compilation.

Since 2014, compilers have been sent across Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas in four other regions to solicit precious books and documents that are important to scholars, doctors and monks, Yexe Yangzom said.

They scanned the documents and checked their background information, including their origin, author and date of release. The regional government funded nearly 17 million yuan (around 2.5 million U.S. dollars) toward the publication.

"The photocopies ensure authenticity of the ancient books. Since many of the books were hand-written in ancient Tibetan words, it is very likely for mistakes to be made when typing them into a computer," said O'kying Dianzin, deputy head of the Tibetan hospital of Dege County, Sichuan Province.

An international forum on Tibetan medicine was held in Lhasa on Tuesday and attended by hundreds of scholars from China and abroad. The day marked the 100th birthday of Tibet's regional Tibetan hospital.

Tibetan medicine, known as "Sowa Rigpa" in Tibetan, has a history of over 3,800 years. It has absorbed the influences of traditional Chinese, Indian and Arab medicine and is mainly practised in Tibet and the Himalayan region.

It uses herbs, minerals and sometimes insects and animal parts. It was added to China's official list for national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.