With 87 streets running
across, the renovated old town of
Lhasa, capital of southwest China's
Tibet Autonomous Region will get ready
to embrace visitors from both home
and abroad in the late June,
reported by Xinhua.
The
government of Lhasa has invested 1.5
billion yuan (almost 246 million US
dollars) in the protection project of
the Lhasa old town in December, 2012,
released by relevant
departments.
According to Xinhua
report, the renovation of roads,
pipelines of the old town is in
the final stage. In addition, 15
historic courtyards have been restored
with the characteristics and styles of
Tibetan folk houses being well
preserved.
It is predicted that
the whole reconstruction project is to
be completed before June 30, 2013, when
visitors are going to see a
clean and tidy old town with
Tibetan styles.
The Barkhor
Street and the Jokhang Temple are
musts for every visitor to Lhasa.
With the Barkhor Street located in
the center, the Lhasa old town
covers an area of 1.3 square
kilometers and has a population of
about 80,000.
It is a town
filled with rich ethic and religious
characteristics, and many precious cultural
relics are well protected, including
key preservation units such as the
Jokhang Temple, the Ramoche Temple,
the Pangdatsang Family Courtyard and
the Samdrup Phodrang Family
Courtyard.
It is reported that
historical background, architectural tradition,
artistic expression and humanistic
connotation of the cultural relics are
fully taken into account in every
renovating detail such as grouting
cracks and recolouring the indoor
architecture to guarantee that the
original appearance of these ancient
buildings are not lost.
Folk
houses around the historic courtyards
are installed with unified windows and
flower stands with Tibetan culture
elements.Besides, some folk houses
will be selected to use big
Tibetan red doors based on suggestions
of local residents.
"With the
renovation of all kinds of pipelines
and old electric power circuits,
potential safety hazards of the old
town are eliminated to protect the
historical relics," said Li Liangqi,
deputy director of Cultural Relics
Bureau of Lhasa.
Along with
the reconstruction project of the old
town, 87 tourism guidance maps are
provided to cover the information on
food, accommodation, shopping, transportation
and so on, and 77 ancient courtyards
and ancient buildings will display
their historical background introduction on
mani stones.
（Editor：YaoChun、Liang
Jun）
