An artist of tangka showing his creation at his workroom in Kangding County in Ganzi...

An artist of tangka shows his creation at his workroom in Kangding County in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, October 21, 2005. Tangka is the most common traditional art product of Tibetan Buddhism with a history of more than 1, 000 years. It is a kind of scroll paintings mounted on brocade which depicts a wide range of subjects including historical events, biographies, religious doctrines, Tibetan natural conditions and social customs, folklore and mythologies. After the democratic reforms in Tibet in 1959, with more factories of arts and handicrafts built in Lhasa, Xigaza, Qamdo and Shannan, the ancient art has seen its heyday. At present, tangkas go beyond the bounds of temples and are made available in market to tourists and collectors.