King Gesar returns to enlighten Olympic visitors

Visitors will be able to see Namgyal and other Tibetan artists paint in the exhibition hall and watch live performances by artists from the Garze Tibetan Song and Dance Troupe from Sichuan.

Also on the program is Ani, a renowned Tibetan artist from Derge, in Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, in Sichuan province. Clad in traditional costume, Ani will sing songs from The Epic of King Gesar.

The 270 Thangka paintings on display have been selected from the King Gesar Epic Thangka Painting Series, which has a total of 1,288 works created by over 200 Tibetan researchers and Thangka painters over the past decade. The collection was listed as an intangible cultural heritage under State protection in 2007.

The pieces selected for the Beijing exhibition, featuring 2m-tall by 1.4m-wide Thangkas, aims to convey a complete account of The Epic of King Gesar, says 50-year-old Genqiu Tashi, the founder of the King Gesar Epic Thangka Painting Series and deputy director of Ling State King Gesar Culture Co Ltd in Garze, the project's key organizer. In 2002, the prefecture's government gave the company 70 percent control over the project, which was initiated in 1999.

Born in a small village in Derge, the westernmost city in Sichuan, also considered to be the hometown of King Gesar, Genqiu was only a few years old when he first heard ballad singing of the legendary ruler who conquered devils and brought prosperity and happiness to the people.