Nearly thirteen-hundred traditional paintings tracing the epic tale of the Tibetan hero "Gesar" are to be shown in Beijing commencing late this month.

The presentation of what are called Thangka paintings, will be part of the Olympic Culture Festival from July 30th to August 20th. The series, depicts the Life of King Gesar, a Tibetan hero.

The heroic tale is the world's longest epic - transmitted orally by ballad singers and lyricists - for centuries. It took more than 100 Tibetan folk painters five years to complete the work that will go on display.

The project was funded by an investment by the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of more than 32 million yuan. That's more than 4 million U.S. dollars. There were also private contributions.

The paintings are said to be the biggest Thangka art project in the world in terms of scale and technique.