Thangka, is the traditional hand-made painting of the Tibetan ethnic group. A good piece of Thangka usually takes one year to finish and therefore costs about 100,000 to 200,000 yuan. Now, owing to greater demand, printed fakes are produced and sold for 20 yuan.
"Fakes are very destructive. When Thangka becomes an instant product, the original one dies," says Qi Qingfu, a member of the National Expert Committee of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection and professor of Central University of Nationalities.
