LHASA - An association was set up in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region on Thursday to better protect the region's distinctive culture.

Members of the Tibet Cultural Development Promotion Association (TCDPA), the first in the region, include 43 companies and 45 individuals.

The association, based in the regional capital of Lhasa, will organize activities such as cultural exhibitions, expos and forums for exchange with the outside world, said Degyi Como, president of the TCDPA.

To cultivate a sound cultural industry, it will strengthen intellectual property rights protection and personnel training, raise funds for small and medium-sized cultural companies and provide technical support for them, she said.

The TCDPA will serve as a bridge for liaison between the government and cultural enterprises and play an important role in the protection of and transmission of Tibet's ethnic culture, according to its president.

Tibet will strive to build centers for tangka, a style of Tibetan art that involves painting on embroidery, Tibetan ethnic medicine, songs and dances, handicrafts and Tibetan studies, added Dong Yunhu, head of the region's publicity department.