Repair of damaged temples a priority

YUSHU, Qinghai - The government is prepared to repair all 87 monasteries damaged in the Yushu earthquake, a local official in charge of religious affairs said.

"Such repairs will be one of the priorities in our quake relief and rebuilding efforts this year," Leshi, chief of the ethnic and religious affairs committee in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Yushu, said on Saturday.

"By the end of this year, we hope to restore the living quarters of the monasteries for more than 8,000 monks now living in makeshift tents."