Losar, or Tibetan New Year is being celebrated now in Tibet. Apart from worshipping at temples and watching local performances, another activity on offer is to visit museums. The Tibetan Museum in Lhasa is hosting an exhibition on customs of the Tibetan New Year and unique and exquisite silk products made in the region.

The Tibetan Museum is a one-stop destination for those wishing to experience the Tibetan new year customs. On display are typical offerings seen on tables in every household in the Tibetan Autonomous Region including buns, goat’s heads, highland barley and dried fruits. Visitors can also try their hand at chess, or a dice guessing game. Guessing riddles written in Tibetan, and taking home red prints of horses are also on the bill. There are also prints of the auspicious Tibetan word expressing blessings.

Silk products have played an important part in Tibetan history for centuries. Silk was brought to the Tibetan plateau via the Silk Road in the Tang dynasty - first used for religious practices and by families in the nobility. The eighty pieces on display have been chosen from 4,000 pieces in the museum’s collection and are mostly from the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties, some of which testify to the exchange of cultures between the Han people and Tibet.

The Tibetan Museum in Lhasa is hosting an exhibition on customs related to the new year and presenting them with unique and exquisite silk products made in the region.[Photo/xz.people.cn]

Cheng Zhihong, a staff member of Tibetan Museum said, "These pieces exemplify a mixture of elegant silk pieces made in the east of China and the functionality and regional culture of Tibet. They were made exclusively for Tibetan people, and sent to Tibet as gifts from the royal court."

So everyone who wants to immerse themselves in the Tibetan new year culture, come and experience all that is on display here in Lhasa until Friday.

The Tibetan Museum in Lhasa is hosting an exhibition on customs related to the new year and presenting them with unique and exquisite silk products made in the region.[Photo/xz.people.cn] 

The Tibetan Museum in Lhasa is hosting an exhibition on customs related to the new year and presenting them with unique and exquisite silk products made in the region.[Photo/xz.people.cn] 

                                                                                              Editor:Doreen Wang