Prayer flags bring blessings to those who sew them

Prayer flags, the rectangular, colored cloth carrying messages of blessing, are found everywhere in the Tibet autonomous region - strung on the roofs of houses, in trees and along riversides and mountain ridges.

It is a custom for Tibetan families to replace the prayer flags on their roofs with new ones before sunrise on the second day of the Tibetan New Year (which began on Feb 16 this year), praying for a good harvest in the new year.

The dyed flags are sewn in a specific order on strings - blue, white, red, green and yellow - to represent, respectively, the five elements of sky, cloud, fire, water and earth. The prayer flags show the great reverence that Tibetans have for nature.