A total of more than 1.7 billion yuan (269.8 million U.S. dollars) will be invested in protecting and maintaining cultural relics in southwest China's Tibet autonomous region in the 2011-2015 period, according to Sangpo, director of the region's Cultural Relics Bureau.

The program, which was launched in October 2011, will cover 44 items, including conservation of some important modern historical sites, construction of protection facilities for major cultural relics and building of some prefecture-level museums.

Tibet is a region boasting rich cultural resources in China, with sites such as the Potala Palace in the heart of Lhasa, Norbu Lingka Palace and Sagya Monastery located there.

According to the third general survey of cultural relics throughout the country, Tibet has 4,277 immovable cultural relics.

The region's tourism revenue last year totaled 9.7 billion yuan, up 35.8 percent year-on-year.

Tourism is an important industry for the resort-rich region.