Tashilhunpo Thangka Festival on the 14th to 16th day of the 5th month in the Tibetan Calendar

Every year on the 14th to 16th day of the fifth month in the Tibetan calendar, Tashilunpo Monastery Festival will be held grandly in Shigatse city. As one of the most important religious festivals in Tibet, tourists will get the chance to witness how magnificent it is around the end of June to the beginning of July. It is also known as the Buddha Exhibition Festival that will unveil giant thangka paintings to worshipers.

The Buddha exhibition stand was built in order to commemorate the birth, Buddhahood, and Nirvana of Sakyamuni by the first Dalai Gedun Drupa. And it became such a grand stand after the large-scale expansion by the fourth Panchen Lama Lobsang. Situated at the top of Tashilunpo Monastery, the stand looks like a giant background, making everything around it magnificent. During the festival, several thangka paintings will be exhibited on the stand.

Tashilhunpo Thangka Festival

Every morning during Tashilhunpo Thangka Festival, more than 800 lamas in Tashilunpo Monastery will chat sutras together. After performing rituals, more than 200 lamas in festival robes will play the drums along the road. Then the Buddha paintings will be lifted from the hall of Tashilunpo Monastery to the Buddha exhibition stand. When the huge colorful embroidered Buddha statue is unfolding, lamas will play the drums and music loudly and people will give a loud cheer. After the statue is completely unfolded on the stand, the crowds will flock to worship, which is the most enthusiastic moment of the day.

The three days during the festival will display three Buddha statues according to the chronological order of the past, present, and future. “Buddha Amitabha”, a Buddha statue made by the 10th Panchen Lama, will be unveiled on the first day for people to remember the past. The second day will unveil the Sakyamuni Buddha made by the 9th Panchen Lama. It is called the Buddha of the present to pray for the happiness of the “pure land world”. The third day will see the exhibition of the Maitreya - the Future Buddha. It is displayed for people to look forward to the future world with hope. The exhibition will start at about 10 am and will end at noon. These Buddha statues will be well preserved in Tashilunpo Monastery.

Lots of local people and monks will gather around Tashilunpo Monastery to celebrate this festival. Besides, with the development of Tibet tourism, an increasing number of international tourists will come to Shigatse during the festival to share the joy with the Tibetan people.