Project to repair the Jokhang Temple in central Lhasa is expected to be completed next May, according to the renovation office of the project.

Preparations of the project, which started this July, have been in place and the renovation is underway.

The central government will allocate more than 30 million yuan on the maintenance and protection of the buildings of Jokhang Temple together with Ramogia Monastery.

"Around 3,000 square meters of rafters were gnawed by worms and need renewing," said Gelek, vice manager of the project.

Besides, beams in the Main Hall and Sunlit Hall also need to be replaced, according to staff of the project.

In order to replace two badly cracked beams in the Sunlit Hall, workers have to dismantle the whole roof considering not to impact on the complex of architecture and cause tourists' trouble, the staff added, in this way the technical difficulty will become higher.

Aga soil, a kind of soil formed in the drought grassland in temperate zone, at the corridor of prayer wheels, passage and top floor of the hall, will be repaved. "The total coverage is 11,000 square meters," according to Gelek, workers are now busy in paving the Aga soil except woodworkers.

Moreover, the renovation areas are separated from touring site with boards, and the shelves are designedly covered with cloths going with the surrounding buildings.

With a history of more than 1,300 years, the Jokhang Temple, home of the most venerated statue in Tibet, was built in 647. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet.