The Chinese government's efforts to preserve intangible heritage in Tibet and other ethnic regions have proven effective, said sources at the first Tibet development forum Wednesday.

"Of the 386 million yuan (62.7 million U.S. dollars) for cultural heritage preservation allocated by the central treasury between 2002 and 2009, about a quarter was spent in ethnic regions including Tibet," said Li Jianhui, a culture promotion official with the State Ethnic Affairs Commission.

Over the past eight years , the central treasury allocated a total of 97.2 million yuan to intangible heritage in Tibet Autonomous Region, said Li.

The plateau region is home to more than 1,000 intangible heritage items, including the famous Tibetan opera and the Epic of King Gesar, which have been listed as World Intangible Cultural Heritage items by UNESCO.

Preservation of cultural essence is aimed at passing on the heritage to future generations, said Li.

"A total of 4 million copies of the Tibetan language edition of King Gesar have been published, averaging one copy for each Tibetan adult," he said.

Other forms of intangible cultural heritage in Tibet include traditional music, dancing, craftsmanship and traditional herbal medicine and folkways.

More than 100,000 articles, nearly 2,000 audio and video clips and 45,000 pictures have been collected since Tibet started a census on intangible cultural heritage in 2006, according to figures provided by Tibet's regional government.

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