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GRAND Buddha Thangka painting unfolding ceremony was held in Drepung Monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa, capital city of Tibet, on Aug. 10, 2010. The annual traditional Shoton (Yogurt) Festival, inscribed on the list of China Intangible Cultural Heritage in May 2006, was opened here on Tuesday.

Buddha Thangka painting unfolding ceremonies in Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery, Tibetan operas, and horse racing are to be presented during the Shoton Festival. Shoton, or Xodoin, means yogurt banquet in the Tibetan language, and the Shoton Festival, believed to originate in the 11th century and been originally a religious activity for pilgrims to serve yogurt to monks and nuns who finished their summer retreat, had gradually become a theatrical event by mid-17th century.

Hundreds of thousands of Tibetan Buddhist believers come to attend the annual Buddha Painting Unfolding Ceremony in Drepung Monastery, ten kilometers away from Lhasa city proper, August 10.

The ceremony marked the beginning of the Lhasa Shoton Festival 2010, which is scheduled to be held from August 10 to 16. The Buddha Painting Unfolding Ceremony is also regarded as an event to show respect for the Buddhist Gods.

Some invaluable giant fabric Buddhist paintings and brocaded Buddhist figures housed in Tibetan monasterie will be exhibited on the Buddha painting displaying platform near the monasteries or hung on the cliff of the a slope or a boulder, enabling the believers to pay their respect for the Buddhist Gods.

Source: Tibet Travel News