LHASA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China spent over 500 million yuan (74.6 million U.S. dollars) on protection of cultural relics and historical sites in Tibet Autonomous Region last year, a local official said Thursday.

The central government earmarked 459 million yuan for cultural heritage protection in Tibet in 2018, and the regional government allocated 118 million yuan, said Liu Shizhong, head of the regional cultural heritage bureau.

The funds went to 85 protection projects, including the Potala Palace and the Samye Monastery, and were spent on renovation, fire protection, big data monitoring and the display and exhibition of relics.

Up to now, projects totaling 426 million yuan have been carried out and 23 projects have been completed, said the official.

"The relics protection projects also play an active role in increasing the income of local farmers and herdsmen as 1,559 locals were paid to work for the projects last year," Liu said.