In 2007, the TAR government continued supporting the development of cultural undertakings vigorously, giving emphasis to the public cultural undertakings to vitalize cultural development. A total of 710 million Yuan was spent on culture and press publication, an increase of 50.17 percent over the previous year. At the end of 2007, Tibet had 28 professional art performing groups, 203 cultural centers, four public libraries and two museums. There were also 18 folk art performing groups at county level and 500-odd amateur performing groups. The region has many large-scale cultural activities, including the annual Shot on Festival in Lhasa, Qomolangma Cultural and Tourist Festival in Xigaze and Summer Horse Race in Naqu. They have become regional brand-name cultural and celebratory activities.
Radio, TV and Network
In recent years, Tibet has practically improved the audio-visual cultural life of farmers and herders. At the end of 2007, the region had three radio stations, 38 short and medium wave broadcasting transmitting stations and five TV stations, with the radio and TV coverage rate reaching 85.8 percent and 86.9 percent respectively, basically realizing the target of extending broadcasting coverage to each administrative village. Currently, an average of 1.6 films is projected monthly in each rural village; there is round-the-clock broadcasting via Tibetan Satellite TV.
Furthermore, by the end of 2007, the number of internet subscribers in Tibet stood at 160,000, accounting for 5.8 percent of the population; this was 74,000 more than in January 2004. With regard to the location of website domain name registration units, the number of Tibetan domain names hit 2,440, compared to 1,616 in 2004.
Press and Publication
In 2007, centering on key selected topics such as tourism, Tibetan medicine, Tibetan handicrafts and animals and plants on the plateau, the press and publications department of Tibet realized sustainable, fast, healthy and orderly development. It published 84.358 million newspapers, a rise of 50.6 percent over the previous year; 3.903 million magazines, up 45 percent; and 11.919 million books, registering an increase of 28.6 percent. It soundly satisfied the readers of all ethnic groups and circles in the society.
In December 2006, the project of compiling the first punctuated Buddhist sutra, Tripitaka, was launched. The book A New Edition of Tripitaka in Chinese with 300 million characters and 300-plus volumes not only played a key role in the development of Buddhism, but also exerted far-reaching impact in many fields such as philosophy, history, nationality, language, literature, art and astronomy. Its contents are double that of the Japanese Taisho Tripitaka, with the most complete varieties of sutras.
Protection of Cultural Relics
Tibet is one of the provincial-level regions in China richly endowed with historical and cultural relics. A rough calculation shows there are more than 2,000 cultural relic sites in the region, 35 subject to national protection, 48 to regional protection and 168 to prefectural and county level protection. Lhasa City, Xigaze City and Gyangze county seats are rated by the PRC State Council as national historical and cultural cities subject to special protection. And the Potala Palace, Jokhang Monastery and Norbu Lingka have been listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. The past 20 years have seen investment of over 700 million Yuan by the State effectively protecting the important historical and cultural heritage of Tibet.
According to Tsering Puntsok, a researcher of the Folk Custom Research Institute of the Academy of Social Science of the TAR, an expert who has been engaged in the research of Tibetan culture for some 20 years, Tibet continued to implement the policy of "putting protection and rescue first, rational utilization and strengthening management" in 2007. The local financial department allocated more funds for the protection of cultural relics. The project for protection of the three cultural relics namely Potala Palace, Norbu Lingka and Sagya Monastery went smoothly. So far, some 134 sub-items of the o far, some 134 sub-items of the project have been launched, 129 of which have been completed and passed inspection, with an investment of 256 million Yuan, accounting for 77 percent. The project is expected to complete in 2008. In addition, much headway was also made in the aspects of renovation of the surrounds of the Potala Palace, investigation of cultural relics along the section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Tibet and construction of the laws and regulations concerning cultural relics, such as registration, archives construction and fire control, and so on. From 2008, the Central Government and the TAR government will prepare to invest 570 million Yuan in the project of repairing 22 monasteries and ancient buildings of cultural relics. This includes a fund of 10 million Yuan for the maintenance of key ancient buildings such as the Shankang Hall and Riwochichin Golden Dagoba; a raised fund of more than 2 million Yuan for the protective repair of over ten cultural relics units such as Gyirulhakang and Zhatang Monastery; and a special fund of 5 million Yuan for the protection and repair of the Kwan Tai Monastery, Inscriptions by Tang Dynasty Envoy Sent to Emperor Tianzu in Gyilung and the Garcho Monastery in Yadong. In order to collect folk cultural relics, the government of the autonomous region invested more than 3 million Yuan, collecting 1,326 articles of various cultural relics and establishing archives for them.
Currently, Tibet has 35 cultural relics units under State protection.
Intangible Cultural Heritage
Since the 1980s, the TAR and each prefecture and city under it have set up institutions to rescue, rearrange and study ethnic cultural heritage, and sent out investigation groups successively to make comprehensive investigations and conduct interviews in the urban areas, villages and temples. The year 2007 saw greater efforts to protect intangible cultural heritage, preserving and carry forward the excellent traditional culture in Tibet. A large number of staff members interviewed folk handicraftsmen, transcribing audiovisual materials and taking pictures. Meanwhile, they published academic papers regarding the traditional culture of Tibetan ethnic group and brought out works on the ethnic culture research. In May 2007, the second group of 83 items was designated, including Mantsikhang Tibetan hospital, the Astronomical Calendar, and so on. Those were selected from more than 130 items submitted, divided into 10 kinds such as folk music, folk dance and folk handicrafts. In regard to the famous Legend of King Gesar, the longest epic in the world, the regional government has established an institute and made investments to rescue it since 1979. So far, there have been 130 editions recited and sung by 57 actors and 90 written editions of the epic. More than 30 books regarding it have also been published.
In the early 2008, the Ministry of Culture publicized 551 representatives of the second group of intangible cultural heritage items at State level, of whom, 22 came from Tibet. In future, Tibet will work to'establish the system for intangible cultural heritage protection and development, fully implementing projects concerning the protection and construction of intangible cultural heritage. Efforts will also be made to conduct general survey work regarding intangible cultural heritage and set up archives and databanks. On such a base, Tibet will also make efforts to establish the system of classified protection, gradually, strengthening research, cognizance, preservation and inheritance work.
Foreign Cultural Exchanges
The year 2007 saw extremely frequent foreign cultural exchanges. In January, Branislv Brkic, the president of the Serbia Photographers Association held an exhibition 'Tibet Today' in Serbia. Some 200 persons from the local government and cultural, educational and press circles as well as photographers attended the opening ceremony. Invited by the State Council Information Office of the PRC and China Photographers Association, Brkic took part in the activity of "Tibet in the Eyes of 100 Photographers" during the period from late June to early July in 2005.He took first place in the activity, with his works truly and vividly reflecting the landscape and social presence of Tibet today. It played an active role in acquainting the people of Serbia with Tibet.
During the September 6-15, "China Tibetan Culture Week" was held in Moscow and Elista, capital of the republic of Kalmykia in southwest Russia, conducting various activities such as exhibitions of Tibetan pictures, Tangka art and Tibetan medicines as well as song and dance performances. As one of the important items in the "National Year" between China and Russia, Tibetan Culture Week not only provided a chance for local people to appreciate the unique landscape and culture of Tibet in a close distance and get further acquainted with the huge changes of Tibet, but also promoted the mutual understanding and traditional friendship between the peoples of the two countries.
On December 19-20, the "China's Tibetan Culture-Katmandu Forum" was held in the Nepalese capital. Its theme was "promoting Sino-Nepalese friendly exchanges and accelerating the protection and development of Tibetan culture". The contents included the speeches, academic exchanges and exhibition of Tibetan pictures. It invited the celebrities from the political, academic, press and religious circles of Nepal and institutions of the UN and many other countries stationed in Nepal. Bothe Chinese and Nepalese experts and scholars on Tibetan studies as well as big names made plenarty speeches. The forum was jointly sponsored by China Association for Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture and Arniko Society of Nepal, with a view to deepening the comprehension of Nepalese people and international friendly personnel on the excellent traditional culture of Tibet, putting up a platform for the foreign exchanges regarding Tibetan culture and promoting the Sino-Nepal Cultural Exchanges and friendly bilateral communications.
The "China Tibet Culture Week" has become a brand name cultural activity for Tibet to show its culture overseas. The first such week was held in Melbourne in 2001, and since then also staged in New Zealand,Canada, Belgium, Thailand, Denmark, Italy Besides the frequent overseas visits of Tibetan delegations, recent years have also seen various localities and departments in Tibet receive visitors from some 20 countries and regions, and some 500 foreign officials, journalists and relative personnel in around 100 groups. These publicize and show the grandeur of Tibetan culture and the much headway made in the economic and social development of Tibet.
( Source: China's Tibet Facts & Figures 2008 )
