Tibet's Jokhang Temple Included in World Heritage List

Tibet's Jokhang Temple Included in World Heritage List

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The Jokhang Temple in Tibet was accepted to the World Heritage list Thursday at the 24th meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Australia, local officials announced.

Located near the Potala Palace and covering 25,100 square meters, Jokhang lamasery was first built in 647 BC, and has been repaired and enlarged many times. The temple is a major arena for holding Buddhist religious activities in Tibet.

In 1961, the Chinese government named it a historical site receiving state-level protection.

Other Chinese sites included in the World Heritage list this time are Dujiangyan (Dujiang Dyke) in Sichuan Province, Longmen Grottoes in Henan Province, the imperial mausoleums of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which are separately located in Hubei and Hebei provinces, and the ancient Xidi and Hong villages in Anhui Province. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee also approved five new gardens in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, as the extension of Suzhou Gardens, which is already on World Heritage list.