Beijing, China - Thousands of Tibetans in China received blessings from the boy picked by Beijing as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama _ the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism _ during a visit by him, the government said.
The 17-day visit, which ended Tuesday, was Gyaltsen Norbu's first trip to southwest Sichuan province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The tour of dozens of counties in Sichuan seemed aimed at shoring up popular support for Norbu. Many Tibetan Buddhist clergy have rejected Norbu or pay only lip service to Beijing's demands for recognition of his title.
Norbu was picked in 1995 as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama after Chinese officials rejected a boy chosen by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader.
Xinhua paraphrased the 15-year-old lama as telling followers in Sichuan he would "carry forward the patriotic traditions handed down from his predecessors and do his best to promote the country's reunification."
The comments echoed Beijing's view that Tibet is an inseparable part of China.
He also said he would promote "the unity of the various ethnic groups, and social and economic development," according to Xinhua.
Communist troops marched into Tibet in 1950. Beijing says it has been part of China for centuries and has spent decades trying to suppress pro-independence sentiment.
The Panchen Lama held religious rituals in more than 10 Tibetan Buddhism temples in Sichuan, blessing thousands of local believers in head-touching ceremonies, Xinhua said.
The China Daily newspaper on Wednesday published a picture of Norbu dressed in traditional red and yellow robes speaking into microphones during a religious ceremony in Sichuan's Litang county.
The visit came amid growing complaints among Tibetan activists abroad that Chinese government controls are damaging Tibet's religious institutions and eroding its unique culture.
The Panchen Lama ranks second to the Dalai Lama in Tibetan Buddhism's dominant Gelugpa sect. Norbu's predecessor openly criticized China's policies in Tibet in 1962 and was imprisoned for years before dying in mysterious circumstances in Tibet in 1988.
The Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, then 6, as the true reincarnation of the Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995.
Nyima disappeared three days after his identity was publicly revealed and has not been seen since.