Dakpa 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)

Photo taken on Oct. 25, 2011 shows the Thangka Center in Shangri-la County, Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The center, jointly founded by a group of volunteers, is dedicated to protecting and inheriting the Tibetan ethnic culture. (Xinhuanet/Yang Lina)

Tibetan 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)

Photo taken on Oct. 25, 2011 shows the mineral pigment used in Thangka painting in the Thangka Center in Shangri-la County, Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhuanet/Yang Lina)

A 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)

Two Tibetan 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)

Dakpa Kelden, founder of the Thangka Center, speaks to reporters in Shangri-la County, Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhuanet/Yang Lina)