Dharamshala: The U.S.-based China Overseas Tibetans Association has raised funds totaling 500,000 (73,000 U.S.Dollar) yuan for quake-hit Kyigudo or Yushul, an eastern Tibetan region of Kham (Ch: Qinghai Province).
According to Chinese news agency "Xinhua" the donations made by overseas will be channeled to the quake zone through relevant government agencies or philanthropic organizations in China.
Yangchen Lhamo, chairwoman of the association and a Tibetan singer living in the U.S., said in Beijing, "Overseas Tibetans are very concerned about the quake victims and want to offer help."
Lhamo said Tibetans have a special attachment to Yushul for religious and historical reasons. "Princess Wencheng used to stop there en route to Tibet when she was on her trip to marry the king Songtsen Gampo of Tibet," said Lhamo.
The Tang Dynasty (around 7 century) princess married the king of Tibet as part of a peace treaty, and later became an iconic figure embodying the amity between the Han and Tibetan Buddhists.
Yushul is an important place for Tibetan Buddhism, the dominant religious belief of people in Yushul. One buddhist temple toppled by the quake boasted a history of over 800 years.
