Published by: World Tibet Network News, Saturday, Apr 20, 1996

Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1452 gmt 17 Apr 96

Text of report by Xinhua news agency

Lhasa, 17th April: A monument to mark the completion of repair work on the historic Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, was unveiled today.

The palace was first built in the seventh century and expanded in the 1640s. It serves as one of the most important and sacred places of the Tibetan Buddhism.

In 1994, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee added the Potala Palace onto the World Heritage List.

Repair of the palace was started in 1989 and completed in 1994, costing the central government 53m yuan (about 6.4m US dollars), the highest sum among all projects for the repair of ancient architecture in China.

Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, attended the inauguration today.