A special leading group has been set in the Tibet Autonomous Region to take the charge of protecting rare cultural relics in the region.

Xu Mingyang, vice-chairman of the regional government, is heading the group, while Zhang Bai, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, acts as the deputy director.

Tibet has 1,800 historical sites, of which 18 are under top state protection. The central and regional government have invested 300 million yuan in the repair of cultural relics at local lamaseries and archeological ruins including the Potala Palace.

In recent years, the robbing of tombs and smuggling of cultural relics from different historical periods has run rampant in Tibet. The establishment of the leading group is to enforce the protection of cultural relics and crack down on smuggling activities.

(Xinhua 04/17/2001)