BEIJING, July 6 (AP/UNB) - Tibet's capital will spend billions to build a massive cultural theme park to boost tourism.
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The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday that 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) will be spent in the next three to five years to build an 800-hectare (3-sqaure-mile) park near downtown. Its theme will be the ancient Chinese princess Wencheng who became a symbol of ethnic friendship by marrying a Tibetan king.
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Xinhua says the park will also showcase Tibetan folk arts and medicine.
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Beijing has spent heavily to improve the Tibetan economy in hopes of winning over ethnic residents, but its heavy-handed rule has drawn criticism. Many Tibetans accuse the government of religious persecution and cultural assimilation and say such huge projects quicken those changes.
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The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday that 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) will be spent in the next three to five years to build an 800-hectare (3-sqaure-mile) park near downtown. Its theme will be the ancient Chinese princess Wencheng who became a symbol of ethnic friendship by marrying a Tibetan king.
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Xinhua says the park will also showcase Tibetan folk arts and medicine.
   Â
Beijing has spent heavily to improve the Tibetan economy in hopes of winning over ethnic residents, but its heavy-handed rule has drawn criticism. Many Tibetans accuse the government of religious persecution and cultural assimilation and say such huge projects quicken those changes.
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