Photo taken on Sept. 15, 2014 shows actors perform at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Tsangyang Gyatso Ballad Cultural Tourism Festival, in Legpo of Tsona County, Lhoka Prefecture of Tibet.[Photo/Xinhua]

The 2014 Tsangyang Gyatso Ballad Cultural Tourism Festival was held in Legpo of Tsona County, Lhoka Prefecture of Tibet, Sep. 15, 2014, Xinhua reported.

The festival, themed as "Tracing the origin of Tibet in Lhoka and love for Legpo", features grand local gathering, art performances, tourism promotion, business negotiation and trade fair.

During the festival, performances of popular songs and intangible cultural heritage items such as Monpa Akyi Lhamo, a folk dance, Dringking song of Sarma, as well as love poem recitation contest will also be presented, according to the organizing committee.

The 1st Tsangyang Gyatso Ballad Cultural Tourism Festival was held in 2012. Tsona County, known for "magical valley and poetic countryside, beautiful township of Monpa flavor and a holy land of love", has been widely hailed for offering tourists the simplest folk customs and purest ecological environment.

"The festival coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the four Monpa ethnic townships in Legpo of Tsona County. During the past 30 years, achievements were made in improving people’s livelihood thanks to preferential government policies. By the end of 2013, the average income of farmers and herders reached 7,542 yuan, higher than the average income level of the Lhoka Prefecture."said deputy chief of the Tsona County.

An investment of 120 mln yuan were put on uplifting the tourism infrastructure of Tsona County, tocarry forward the Monpa ethnic culture and promote the Tsangyang Gyatso tourism brand.

With the clement climate and fertile land, Legpo is celebrated for its snow mountains, sea of clouds, dense forest and magnificent waterfall. It is the localities of Monpa ethnic group, more remarkably, the birthplace of Tsangyang Gyatso, a world-famous poet from Monpa.