As with Tibetan clothing, Tibetan-style hats are elegant and made from many different materials. Some are made of felt, leather, and flowers of gold silk. In Lhasa, hats with gold silk flowers ("Tsering Golden Fruit" in Tibetan) are the most popular; whether celebrating a wedding or the Tibetan New Year, people will wear these hats.

Entering the Barkhor Supermarket, if you merely mention Kelsang the "Tsering Golden Fruit" hat seller, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know who he is. 41-year-old Kelsang from Sendrupling in Taktse County, Lhasa has been making "Tsering Golden Fruit" hats for 26 years.

The best time for Kelsang’s business is just before the Tibetan New Year. The prices of his hats are cheaper and the workmanship is good.

Kelsang says that in addition to selling Tibetan hats in the Barkhor Supermarket, he also brings his hats to various annual fairs to sell. At a fair in Lhokha there were many Tibetan hat sellers, but Kelsang’s sold the best.

"When I was 15-years-old I went to Shigatse to study sewing. At that time I had to learn to make clothes, Tibetan robes, shirts, and so on," Kelsang said. "I learned everything there was to know about sewing, so in time, I developed a unique feeling towards making Tibetan hats."

Although "Tsering Golden Fruits" are only hats, the production process is very cumbersome. The felt must first be made wet before placing it on a head-shaped model, back and forth three times. When the felt has finally dried two or three days later it can begin to be sewed. There are two other craftsmen in addition to Kelsang, but together they can only make five to six hats per day.

Kelsang has two children. They are doing well in school, and because Kelsang’s son is still too young to help, he’ll occasionally be a model for Kelsang. His daughter has already grasped several "Tsering Golden Fruit" hat-making techniques, and every year during the Tibetan New Year vacation, his daughter will come back to Lhasa to help him. He said that as other children learn cultural knowledge, he himself will pass along this craft to his children.

"Twenty-six years have flown by," Kelsang said. "Family happiness and business success have always been my greatest desires, and today, all my wishes have come true through the efforts I have made. I will continue to make good Tibetan hats, maintaining the original traditions, so that more people can understand traditional ethnic culture and customs. In order to pass down this craft, I acquired a few disciples a few years ago. Now, their skills in making Tibetan hats have surpassed mine, which makes me very happy."