Tibetan Buddhist believers are taking ritual walk during the Sagya Dawa Festival, photo from China Tibet Information Center.

Norsang crawled on the ground and prostrated herself as she moved through the crowds on the Potala Palace square in Lhasa.

With two spiral sea shells, or conches, in hand, Norsang had made hundreds of bows on Friday morning as the month-long Sagya Dawa Festival started.

A Tibetan woman in her 30s, she said she prayed for her family to lead safe and happy lives.

The festival, which falls on the first day of the fourth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, commemorates the birth and death of Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism.

According to the regional tourism authority, Tibet expects to receive 6.5 million tourists this year, up 16 percent from last year.

Over the next month, Tibetans will hold Buddhist rituals such as the release of captive animals in memory of Sakyamuni.

On Friday, pilgrims were seen at major monasteries and streets in Lhasa, some from neighboring provinces. Tourists from abroad also took in the sights.

Sambo, in red monk's robes, drove 11 hours to Lhasa from Chakri Monastery in Nagqu county.

He and his friends planned to stay for the whole month.

"I pray for a peaceful and safe world, and hope quake victims in Yushu will find way their to heaven," he says.