Historical and cultural heritage of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region is under effective protection, said a white paper released on Friday.

The white paper, titled "CPC Policies on the Governance of Xizang in the New Era: Approach and Achievements," was issued by the State Council Information Office.

A total of 4,468 sites of historical or cultural interest of all types have been examined, registered and protected by the local county or district government. The region has 2,373 cultural relics protection units under the protection of governments at different levels, 70 of which are key units under state protection. Since 2013, over 100,000 precious cultural relics of all kinds have been carefully protected through digital archiving, according to the white paper.