A Tibetan craftman paints a piece of traditional Buddhist Regong art

A Tibetan craftsman works on a piece of Thangka painting in Tongren County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Huangnan, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, Dec. 17, 2013. Huangnan Prefecture is the hometown of Regong arts, which includes Thangka, murals, paintings and other Tibetan Buddhist art forms. The revenue of Regong arts industry this year has exceeded 300 million yuan (about 49 million U.S. dollars), with the annual income for each craftsman reaching more than 20,000 yuan (about 3294 U.S. dollars). (Xinhua/NEWSis)

Photo taken on Dec. 17, 2013 shows a piece of Thangka painting valued over 5 million yuan (about 823,500 U.S. dollars) in Tongren County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Huangnan, northwest China’s Qinghai Province. Huangnan Prefecture is the hometown of Regong arts, which includes Thangka, murals, paintings and other Tibetan Buddhist art forms. The revenue of Regong arts industry this year has exceeded 300 million yuan (about 49 million U.S. dollars), with the annual income for each craftsman reaching more than 20,000 yuan (about 3294 U.S. dollars). (Xinhua/NEWSis)

A craftsman gets pigments in Tongren County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Huangnan, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 17, 2013. Huangnan Prefecture is the hometown of Regong arts, which includes Thangka, murals, paintings and other Tibetan Buddhist art forms. The revenue of Regong arts industry this year has exceeded 300 million yuan (about 49 million U.S. dollars), with the annual income for each craftsman reaching more than 20,000 yuan (about 3294 U.S. dollars). (Xinhua/NEWSis)