(XINHUA)

A giant Tangka, a religious silk embroidery or painting of Buddha, is unfolded by monks on the hill slope near Drepung Monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa, capital city of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, starting the 2011 Shoton Festival, which lasts from August 29 to September 4.

Shoton Festival, one of the most popular traditional festivals in Tibet, is celebrated annually from the end of the sixth month to the beginning of the seventh month according to the Tibetan calendar. It attracts tens of thousands of Buddhists and tourists each year. During the weeklong festival, people gather to drink yogurt, watch Tibetan operas, and pay homage to giant paintings of Buddha. Originating from the 11th century, the festival is now a national intangible cultural heritage.