Buddhist Sutra printing house in Tibet shuts down for repair

Tibet's 400-year old printing house specialising in printing Buddhist Sutras will be closed for a year to undergo a USD 4.7 million repair and renovation.
This is the first large-scale renovation project to focus on the wooden structure, which is located in the Meru Monastery compound on Beijing Road in the heart of Tibet's provincial capital Lhasa.
The printing house, which still uses the woodblock printing process to produce Buddhist Sutras, was built more than 400 years ago, during the days of the 5th Dalai Lama.
Its wooden beams, pillars and walls have sustained damage over the years, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The main building has been closed for four weeks, said Kalsang Dawa, one of the printers.
The repair project, which will cost around 30 million yuan (about USD 4.7 million), was jointly financed by the regional treasury, the ethnic and religious affairs authority and cultural heritage administration.
Following the renovation, the building will be much more structurally sound while retaining its original features. All workers have been recruited from the region and will use traditional Tibetan techniques.
The printing house has a large collection of Tibetan Buddhist teachings including the Kangyur and the Tangyur, as well as the woodblocks.