A fire broke out at the most sacred shrine in Tibetan Buddhism – the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa, a media report said on Sunday.
Footage posted online showed flames billowing from the roof and what appeared to be at least one gutted pagoda, the BBC report said.
Chinese state media said the blaze started late Saturday and was soon put out. No casualties were reported.
The extent of damage to the sprawling compound is unclear. State media said there was no damage to cultural relics.
The Jokhang monastery is more than 1,000 years old and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The fire comes as Tibetans celebrate Losar, their traditional new year, which began on Friday.