Museum to unblock a massive collection

Sutra paper. [Photo/Xinhua]

The printing house boasts a vast collection, including classic literature across the five major schools of Tibetan Buddhism — Nyingmapa, Sakyapa, Kagyu, Bonpo and Gelug.

Preservation work has been stepped up at the facility in recent years, Yang said.

More than five dozen craftsmen hand-craft new wooden blocks of the Buddhist Tripitaka, a treasured collection that records the words and deeds of Shakyamuni, the founding father of Buddhism.

"Carving the board is quite time consuming, even a skilled craftsman can only make seven blocks a month," said Yang, adding that the Dege government has promised to recruit more craftsmen.

The facility attracts 60,000 Buddhist devotees and visitors every year, and it expects more in future.

An airport is under construction near the county. Starting from next year, the trip from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, to Dege will be shortened from a two-day drive to a two-hour flight.

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