China builds Tibetan Buddhism academy in Chengdu

BEIJING: China has started the construction of an academy for Tibetan Buddhism at Chengdu in southwest China at a cost of $18.9 million.

The 116 million yuan project is funded by the Sichuan provincial government and will cover an area of 7.73 hectares, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Sichuan Tibetan Buddhism Academy is expected to open next year.

The school will enroll 400 students, and its curriculum will include Buddhism classics, Tibetan culture, IT and policies, according to Li Xiaoxiang, Communist Party of China secretary of the academy.

Students will study for three or four years, Li added.

Sichuan Province located next to Tibet is home to 2.1 million Tibetans.