2013 Tibet Shoton Festival to be Held in Lhasa from Aug 6 to Aug 12

2013 Tibet Shoton Festival to be Held in Lhasa from Aug 6 to Aug 12
Aug 01, 2013 By eChinacities.com

The Shoton Festival (“sour milk banquet” in Tibetan language) is the most popular traditional festival in Tibet. It is also the largest in scale with the most elaborate programs. This year, the Shoton Festival will be held in Lhasa from Aug 6 to Aug 12. Featured programs include Thangka (Buddha painting) unveiling ceremony, Tibetan opera performances, visiting Norbulingka etc.

The prelude of the Shoton Festival is the Thangka unveiling ceremony in Drepung Monastery. The 600 square meter Thangka will be slowly opened up as the morning light strikes on eight o’clock. Thousands will gather for this ceremony, otherwise known as “Buddha basking in the sun”. Within five and a half hours, the Thangka will be rolled up again and carried back. People will not see it until the next year.

Those who cannot not make it for the ceremony in Drepung Monastery can also visit the Sera Monastery where another Thangka will be available for viewing from 09:30 to 15:00 on the same day.    

When: Aug 6 to Aug 12
Where: Drepung Monastery , 276 Beijing Xi Lu, Chengguan District, Lhasa
拉萨市城关区北京西路276号哲蚌寺
Price (for Drepung Monastery): 50 RMB
Getting There: Bus lines 24 and 25 stop right outside the monastery

Source: Chinadaily, Tibetcn

Warning:The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: Norbulingka Thangka Tibetan opera The Shoton Festival

0 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.