Tibet Tourism and Culture Expo: Biennial event helps spread out Tibetan products and culture

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The Tibet Tourism and Culture Expo has opened in China's western region. The event showcases traditional products and celebrates Tibetan culture. CGTN reporter Wang Mengzhen has more from Lhasa.

Located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, also known as the Roof of the World, Tibet is a place where many come to seek inner peace.

But for people living here, they're eager to go elsewhere and share their made-in-Tibet products and techniques.

That is why hundreds of exhibitors have seized the chance at this year's Tibet tourism and culture expo.

For visitors, it's easy to be mesmerized by the hundreds of products on display, but it's the Thangka art festival that's been stealing the spotlight. Thangka master Norbu Sethar has been participating in the expo since the very beginning.

NORBU SETHAR PRESIDENT, TIBET THANGKA PAINTING ACADEMY "Every time, the expo has offered me an opportunity to promote Thangka art to more people from outside Tibet, as well as to share ideas with other masters around the world. As a Tibetan Thangka inheritor, I feel proud of the art's growing popularity."

The expansion of the expo has also provided opportunities for Tibetan start-ups in various fields including these Tibetan-style fashion brands.

KANGZHU QINGCUO FOUNDER, BOBA FASHION BRAND "This is our first time joining the expo, but we've already got customers coming to try on our dresses which combine the traditional Tibetan style with modern elements."

Foreign exhibitors from 5 countries have also joined the event, hoping this could act as an effective platform to enter the Chinese market. One Nepali businessman says all of his four thousand carpets were sold at the expo two years ago.

AMAR SHRESTHA NEPALI BUSINESSMAN "This is my third time in Tibet. This first time is in 2015, and since then we continue to come as a good opportunity to promote Nepali handicrafts. Our products and Tibetan products have similar design and culture."

WANG MENGZHEN LHASA "This year, the expo's theme is traveling around China's new Tibet and protecting the Third Pole of the world. For the next 4 days, the biennial event, hosted by both Lhasa and Nyingchi, will offer visitors much more. WMZ, CGTN, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region."