The image of King Gesar [Photo/Cultural China]

Nearly 80 inheritors from Nagqu prefecture were gathered together in Lhasa to receive training session to protect and inherit the world intangible cultural heritage "King Gesar", Chinanews.com reported.

The Tibetan epic "King Gesar"， hailed as the world’s longest heroic epic, has circulated for thousands of years. It is popular among ethnic minorities including Tibetan, Mongolian, Tu, Sugu, Naxi, and Bai peoples. And it has also long been known among China’s neighboring countries including Mongolia, India, Bhutan and Nepal.

In 2009, "King Gesar" was listed as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage item. In recent years, to protect and inherit this treasure, Tibet has carried out surveys, established narrators’ archives, selected inheritors, and published books and audio-visual products.

Nagqu prefecture, the "Gesar inheritance base" of Tibet, has the highest concentration of inheritors in the whole region. Currently there are two national level, seven regional level and 71 prefecture level Gesar inheritors.

The training course will teach the various different ways and styles of singing and narrating and will enhance the inheritors’ awareness of intangible cultural heritage protection.

Sixty-nine-year-old Cha’ou, the eldest students in the class, has been narrating "King Gesar" for 56 years.

"I have never gone to school and used to sing on my own. I’ve now realized that there are so many different singing styles, so I must study hard," he said.

According to Tsering Dradul, who is a national level inheritor, since many of the Gesar inheritors have a low level of education, they have to rely on passing it on orally but are unable to record its content. Also, the inheritors are spread far and wide with very little contact between one another.

"This course gives everyone a communication platform where they can not only discuss singing content, skills and experience, but also develop a sense of responsibility toward protecting this ancient art", Tsering Dradul said.