BEIJING, Sept 23 (Reuter) - China has paved the roof of a Buddhist temple in Tibet with gold to make up for damage caused during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, temple officials said on Monday.

The paving of the roof was part of a project to restore three buildings at the Ganden monastery, one of three biggest Buddhist temples in Lhasa, a temple spokesman said by telephone.

The project was to repair damage caused by Red Guards to the buildings and the destruction of many of its relics during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, the temple official said.

China's Xinhua news agency said the central government had set aside more than $300,000 and about 22.9 kg (50.5 lb) of gold for the construction project.

"A few halls of the monastery, which had been previously destroyed, have been rebuilt," it said without giving details.

Police closed down the temple, 40 km (25 miles) east of Tibet's capital Lhasa, in May when monks staged protests against the removal of pictures of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.

The temple spokesman said the monastery had been temporarily closed to carry out patriotic education but declined to comment further.