China issues white paper on Tibet

Traditional culture in Tibet well protected

Tibet autonomous region has done much and made remarkable achievements towards respecting, protecting, inheriting, and carrying forward Tibet's excellent traditional culture, according to a government white paper issued Sunday.

Tibetan language learning is efficiently protected. Bilingual teaching in Tibetan and Chinese is carried out in all schools in Tibet to inherit the Tibetan language in the course of learning, the white paper titled "Successful Practice of Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet" said.

There are now 30,642 bilingual teachers in kindergartens, primary and middle schools, and 5,800 teachers of Tibetan language in primary and middle schools. Tibet autonomous region has compiled 821 textbook titles for 13 courses, 410 reference books, 56 syllabuses and curriculum standards, and 73 supplementary books, the white paper said.

Over the decades, Tibet has organized large-scale and systematic campaigns to restore its traditional culture, having collected more than 10,000 pieces of music, songs and folk art forms, and more than 30 million words of written texts. It has also recorded copious audios and videos, taken about 10,000 photos, and published more than 1,000 papers on Tibetan ethnic and traditional culture and 10 volumes on Tibetan arts, the paper said.

Tibetan opera and Gesar have been chosen as Masterpieces of UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and 89 are on the state level intangible heritage list, it added.