\tSitting cross-legged on the floor, Dakpa Kelden is discussing Thangka painting skills with his students in his office in a two-story Tibetan-style building.<\/p>\n
\tThe middle-aged Tibetan man is a principal founder of the Thangka\uff08\u5510\u5361\uff1aTán\u0261k\u01ce\uff09<\/strong> Center and the Shangri-la\uff08\u9999\u683c\u91cc\u62c9\uff1aXi\u0101n\u0261\u0261él\u01d0l\u0101\uff09<\/strong> Association of Cultural Preservation in Shangri-la county, Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan province.<\/p>\n \t <\/p>\n \n \tEstablished in 2006, the non-governmental and non-profit association is dedicated to protecting and inheriting the ethnic Tibetan culture.<\/p>\n \tDakpa Kelden used to be a monk when young and once studied tourism management in Austria. He can speak fluent Tibetan, Han, English and Hindu languages.<\/p>\n \tHe said that the Thangka painting skill has to be inherited and passed down to future generations because it is an important part of the Tibetan culture; otherwise the young Tibetans will gradually forget their own ethnic culture.<\/p>\n \n \tThe center, which started with three students at the very beginning, currently has about 20 students, all of whom are Tibetans from Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas in other parts of China.<\/p>\n \tAged 10-25, the students not only study Thangka painting skills, but also learn Tibetan, Han and English languages, and most importantly, the Tibetan culture.<\/p>\n \tAll coming from poor families, the students enjoy totally free education during their four-year study in the center.<\/p>\n \tApart from government's support, the founder also called for attention of the international community in carrying forward the Tibetan culture, an integral part of the splendid Chinese culture.<\/p>\n \n \tLozang Khedup, 35, a local Tibetan monk, is one of the center's two Thangka painting teachers.<\/p>\n \tHe said, "Thangka has been increasingly becoming a handicraft, thus losing its cultural connotation. It is expensive only for its valued pigments and workmanship, not for its cultural meaning."<\/p>\n \tHe noted that nowadays, lots of young people consider culture as a certain object, for example, a piece of Thangka.<\/p>\n \tAs a matter of fact, he said, an object is only the carrier of the culture, not the culture itself; therefore, teaching the Tibetan culture is more important than the Thangka painting skills.<\/p>\n \tDakpa Kelden (R2), founder of the Thangka Center, talks to his students in the Thangka Center in Shangri-la county, Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan province. [Xinhuanet\/Yang Lina]<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n
\tA Tibetan student paints Thangka in a classroom in the Thangka Center in Shangri-la county, Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan province. [Xinhuanet\/Yang Lina]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n
\tTibetan students learn the Thangka painting skill in a classroom in the Thangka Center in Shangri-la county, Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan province. [Xinhuanet\/Yang Lina]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n