Tuesday August 19, 1997

BEIJING (Reuter) - The Tashilhunpo Monastery in China's Himalayan region of Tibet has opened a handicrafts business, a guesthouse, a shop and two farms to support its 800 monks, the Financial News said on Tuesday.

These businesses, together with donations and ticket sales, had helped the monastery built in 1447 and once home to more than 4,000 monks -- to earn more than 1 million yuan ($120,000) a year, it said.

The largest business run by the monastery was the handicrafts firm, which contributed 300,000 yuan to the temple a year, it said.

Income from entrance tickets last year contributed more than 100,000 yuan to the temple complex, it said.

The two farms had more than 600 head of goats, 80 dairy cows and 200 yaks, it said.

The monastery's biggest expenditure was the living expenses of its more than 800 monks, it said.

Monks receive between 130 and 240 yuan a month, depending on their grade, it said.