The Culture, Press and Publication Department of Qinghai Province and the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture government are setting up a team to assess the damage caused by the magnitude-7.1 quake, which seriously damaged historical and cultural sites.
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage is also considering sending experts to assess the damage and make restoration plans.
The Xinzhai Mani Pagoda, a national cultural heritage site, was 40% destroyed, and the remaining 60% was on the verge of collapse, said Wang. The Gyanak Mani Stone Mound in Yushu County, the world’s largest Mani stone pile, also collapsed.
The Mani stone mound is an important holy site in Yushu County, where 97% of the population are Tibetan. Local Tibetans have already started to restack the Mani stones while the government concentrated on saving lives. Started in the 1700s, the Gyanak pile has more than 2 billion Mani stones.
Shanghai Daily reports it is not clear how many relics in the quake-hit region have been damaged.
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