The printing house in Lhasa uses traditional woodblock printing to produce Sutras. (Photo : Wikimedia)
A Sutra printing house dating back centuries in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China, will be closed for a year in order to undergo repairs.
This marks the first large-scale renovation project to focus on the printing house, which is made of wood. The structure is located in the Meru Monastery compound on Beijing Road within Lhasa.
The printing house dates back 400 years to the days of the 5th Dalai Lama.
One of the things the repair project hopes to address is the wooden beams, pillars and walls, which have sustained damage over the years.
Keeping with tradition, the printing house still uses the woodblock printing process for the production of Buddhist Sutras.
According to Kalsang Dawa, one of the printers, the main building of the printing house has been closed for four weeks.
The repair project was jointly financed by the regional treasury, the ethnic and religious affairs authority and the cultural heritage administration. It is estimated to cost around 30 million yuan ($4.7 million).
The renovation of the building hopes to make it more structurally sound, but still retain the original features that make the printing house iconic.
In line with this, all the workers employed for the project have been recruited from within the region. The repair and renovation project will also use traditional Tibetan techniques to make it as authentic as possible.
Aside from the woodblocks, the printing house also houses a large collection of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, including the Kangyur and the Tangyur.
