Jamyang Lekdrup Rinpoche gives a speech at the opening ceremony of Jonang Thangka Art Exhibition at Pro-public International Cultural Center in Beijing on Dec.19, 2011. [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Sita(M), Vice Minister of United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee, attends the Jonang Thangka Art Exhibition. [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Thangka paintings from Tibet's oldest Jonang School are first displayed in Beijing for a three-day exhibition at Pro-public International Cultural Center, bringing people in big metropolis an artist feast and spiritual purity.

Over 60 pieces of delicate Thangka paintings are on show in the exhibition titled "Jonang Thangka Art Exhibition", which offer audiences the quintessence of Jonang Thangka art.

Among the exhibited works, two are considered the most valuable ones - Mahakala and Buddha III. The former is one of the masterpieces of Jonang Thangka in the Qing Dynasty, bright-colored with meticulous lines; the latter is a 3-meter-long masterpiece and rare modern art work painted by Jamyang Lekdrup Rinpoche.

Jamyang Lekdrup Rinpoche is the representative of Jonang School, who has made great efforts in protecting and promoting Buddhism culture of Tibet and also plays active role in the exchanges between Tibetan and Han cultures. 

Thangka, a unique painting form in Tibetan culture, has been inscribed into world intangible cultural heritage by the UNESCO and won widespread attention from various circles around the world.

And Thangka of Jonang School originates from the Lhatse township of Tibet's Shigatse Prefecture and is noted for its time-honored tradition and distinguished artistic merit. Jonang School is one of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism with a history of over a thousand of years.

During the past years, Jonang Thangka paintings have never gone out of Buddhist temples. Therefore, this exhibition becomes the first time that Jonang Thangka walks into big a metropolis like Beijing.

The exhibition is co-organized by China Culture Promotion Association and Cultural Department of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. Sita, Vice President of United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee, Dong Yunhu, Deputy Director of Information Office of the State Council and famous scholars on Tibetology attended the opening ceremony.