LHASA, May 30  -- A set of books reproducing ancient works on Tibetan medicine went on sale on Friday as part of the government's efforts to boost the traditional industry.

Researchers with the Tibet College of Tibetan Medicine spent four years compiling the 30-volume collection, with 11 million yuan (about 1.76 million U.S. dollars) provided by the central government, said Nyima Cering, head of the college.

The books are photocopies of rare manuscripts of over 100 masterpieces on Tibetan medicine's history, theories, clinical experience, pharmacology as well as the Tibetan calendar, said Nyima Cering. "Therefore, they retain the authenticity of the original works."

The publication features the largest-scale research on Tibetan medicine ever conducted in China, he added.

With a history of nearly 4,000 years, Tibetan medicine is among the four major types of traditional medicine in the world.