Experts have completed a comprehensive investigation on the folk art in China's Tibet Autonomous Region after more than 20 years of painstaking efforts, according to the researchers.

Artists and Tibetologists have traced Tibetan folk art in more than 70 counties during the past two decades and collected numerous written materials, some 5,000 pictures, 1,000 hours of audio records and 700 hours of video tapes, said Gaeqoe, deputy head of Lhasa-based Institute on Tibetan Folk Art, who has led the investigation for 10 years.

The investigation, the largest over the past 40 years, provides critical information on the folk art and artists in the region and paves the way for further academic research on the treasures, Gaeqoe said.

In some remote villages, experts also found a handful of valuable artistic styles and forms that academics believed had perished long ago.

He added that it will take time for scholars to categorize and analyze the materials, although some research achievements have already been published.