Soldiers and police blockaded Nyitso monastery in Sichuan province after Tsewang Norbu, a 29-year-old monk, set himself on fire Monday -- just five months after a similar incident in a nearby area triggered protests and a crackdown.

A monk in the monastery in Daofu county, not far from Tibet, told AFP on Tuesday that around 1,000 soldiers and police had surrounded the building, adding power and water had been cut off for days.

Stephanie Brigden, director of the London-based Free Tibet group, cited local contacts as saying water and electricity supplies had resumed on Thursday, and the security presence around the building had eased.

"There seems to be a reduction in the presence of the People's Armed Police (PAP)... It hasn't gone down to zero but the numbers immediately in front of the monastery have reduced," she told AFP.

A monk in Nyitso monastery contacted by AFP Friday evaded questions on the situation. "Our telephone lines are tapped, it's not convenient to talk," he said. An official at Daofu county government refused to comment.

Brigden said the apparent easing in restrictions came after international coverage of the incident.

But authorities were still trying to restrict information flow by placing checkpoints at "all junction points as well as on the main streets between Daofu and other main cities".

"People are very fearful and nervous of the consequences of what could happen," she said.

The latest developments come as Free Tibet released a photograph of Norbu's blackened and contorted corpse, in order to "draw international attention to the deepening crisis in Tibet," the group said.

The monk's self-immolation was the second reported this year in this area of Sichuan, which has experienced sporadic bouts of unrest.

In March, a young monk called Phuntsog set himself on fire and died near Kirti Monastery in Aba county, around 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Daofu, in apparent protest against the government.

Many Tibetans in China are angry about what they view as increasing domination by China's majority Han ethnic group, and accuse the government of trying to dilute their culture.

China however says Tibetan living standards have improved markedly in recent decades.

Police have stepped up surveillance on dissidents and warned them against making any high profile protests or attempting to meet Biden during his five-day visit, they said.

"The Chinese government has been pulling out all the stops to intimidate any and all dissidents, human rights lawyers and social activists from taking any high profile actions," Phelim Kine, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

"The word has gone out that they should keep a very low profile... and that any attempt at such a meeting (with Biden) would carry reprisals."

Biden did raise human rights concerns during his meetings with Chinese leaders, US officials said, but they refused to go into details of whether any individual cases were raised.

Before the visit, Washington appealed to China to free rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has not been heard from since last year, and restore the rights of dissident writer Ran Yunfei, released from detention earlier this month.

"Yesterday (Friday), state security police began following me," Li Yu, a democracy activist and outspoken blogger in Sichuan province, told AFP.

"I don't know why they are following me, but I can't help to think that it is because the US vice president is visiting."

Li said other political activists in Sichuan, which will host Biden over the weekend, were facing similar police surveillance.

Meanwhile prominent human rights lawyers Teng Biao and Liu Xiaoyuan declined to comment to AFP on Biden's visit, saying they had been told by the authorities not to accept interviews with foreign media.

Biden's meetings with President Hu Jintao, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Vice President Xi Jinping have largely focused on the economic ties between the two heavyweight nations and China's position as the largest foreign holder of US debt.

On Friday, Wen minister expressed confidence in the US economy after a historic downgrade of the United States' top-notch credit rating earlier this month.