July 2, 2009--The 14th Joint Conference of Chariman of CPPCC (the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) for the World Heritages in China kicked off in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), on July 1. 146 experts and CPPCC members attended the 3-day conference to discuss how to protect, utilize and manage heritages. Dorje Tsedrop, mayor of Lhasa, delivered a speech on the conference.
According to Dorje Tsedrop, cherishing and protecting the world heritages in China will help improve ethnic confidence and pride as well as the self-identity and the adscription of Tibetan culture.
In recent years, Lhasa has taken efforts to protect the Potala Palace, the Norbu Lingka park and the Jokhang Temple and great results have been achieved. The excellent ethnic culture has been inherited by maintaining ancient buildings and cultural relics.
"In Lhasa, cultural relics can be found everywhere and a lot of temples can be found," said Dorje Tsedrop. He expressed that the management work in Lhasa should be strenghened for declaring World Heritage Sites in order to make Chinese culture more well-known around the world.
Currently, TAR boasts World Heritage Sites including the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple and the Norbu Lingka park. In addition, the central government has required that the Tibetan opera and "Gesar" be approved into the World Heritage Site list.
