Horsehair thangka sees revival in Inner Mongolia

When the skilled craftsmanship needed to make Tibetan thangka spread to the Inner Mongolia region hundreds of years ago, locals added their own touch - horsehair - to give the embroidery more texture and make it more vivid.

China's only museum for horsehair thangka opened in late December in Alxa Left Banner, with a show of more than 200 thangka works made by Taogerile, 75, the leading inheritor of the art in Inner Mongolia, and her disciples.

Thangka often depicts Buddhist images, events and figures in a Tibetan epic. Horsehair gives the silk embroidery a 3D impression and makes the texture more rugged.