Epic enlightenment

Tibetan Buddhists developed the unique art of Thangka painting, the religious art on scrolls that can be rolled up and packed for travel, in order to take devotional images on the road. Today these beautiful paintings are considered prime examples of the region's celebrated artistic and cultural heritage.

Now a collection of modern Thangka paintings, created by more than 200 living artists and researchers, recounts the story of Tibet's central epic poem, The Epic of King Gesar. The collection is currently on display at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing.

Handed down by generations of ballad singers in Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia for more than 1,000 years, The Epic of King Gesar is considered one of the world's greatest literary epics. It tells of how the half-human, half-god Tibetan king conquered the devils of other tribes and sought to help ordinary people.