With joint government funding from China and Switzerland, the maintenance project on the Ramoche Monastery in Tibet Autonomous Region has been completed and passed the appraisal of specialists, local official sources said.

It is the first governmental cooperation on Tibetan cultural heritage protection between China and Switzerland, according to Xiao Yuanchun, director of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage of Lhasa.

The project was started on April 15 this year, and an official ceremony will be held soon to mark the completion, Xiao said.

The Swiss government invested 200,000 Swiss francs (about US$150,000) for the maintenance of the depository of Buddhist scriptures and parts of the golden roves of the lamasery, Xiao said.

Ramoche Monastery, located in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is a major temple of Tibetan Buddhism built in the seventh century, the same era when the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple were constructed. The temple is under state-level protection since 2001.

The Chinese government plans to put another 7 million yuan (US$875,000) between 2006 and 2008 for an overhaul of the Ramoche Monastery, Xiao said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2005)