Community of art

Centuries-old ethnic crafts continue to thrive in Qamdo county's Karma town in the Tibet autonomous region.

Throughout history, craftsmen from Nepal, India, Lhasa and other parts of China have traveled to work for the historically important Karma Monastery. Over the years, they settled down and gradually formed a crafts enclave that makes religious items, including the scroll paintings known as thangka, bronze Buddha statues, prayer-stone carvings and clothing accessories.

Among the town's 1,200 adults, there are 140 silversmiths, 72 thangka painters, 98 stone carvers and 18 carpenters.

Thanks to the efforts of senior craftsmen like thangka master Karma Delek (top right), 82, and assistance from the local government, the old arts are attracting more young successors.

Governmental promotion has enhanced the production efficiency and market for the crafts, and traditional artists' incomes have been growing in recent years.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/22/2014 page4)