When Nyangbon, 47, now a State-level master of arts and crafts in Northwest China's Qinghai province, began to learn thangka－traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting－that had been carried on for centuries in his native town of Tongren, it was a dying art. Very few thangka artists, including Nyangbon's master, Shaur Tsering, were alive, and they were aging.

At that point, Nyangbon, then 12, dropped out of school and was sent by his father to study thangka so that he could make a living from it.

Now, the situation has dramatically improved for thangka artists in Tongren's villages.

And the art form is an important way for villagers to show their cultural legacy to the outside world.

It is also a prime source of income as their works are exhibited and sold at home and abroad.