A local resident with her son is watching the Thangka painting displayed in a Manniang Thangka exhibition held in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 21. [Photo/Xinhua]

Local residents are watching the Thangka paintings displayed in a Manniang Thangka exhibition held in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 21. [Photo/China Tibet Online]

An exhibition of the reputed "Oriental oil painting" was held in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet, to help to spread the region's Thangka culture on July 21, according to the event planner.

As a main sect of the Tibetan Thangka painting, Manniang Thangka was created in the Shigatse Prefecture in southwestern Tibet in the 15th century and has been listed as national intangible cultural heritage.

Themed as "concerning about Shigatse, the cradle of Manniang Thangka", the exhibition covers more than 130 Thangka paintings by over 30 painters from Shigatse.

"I wish the Thangka art were known by more people in the world," said painting master Phuntsog Tashi, who has brought almost 20 painting works with new idea based on traditional techniques at the exhibition.

"I see many young Tibetan painters during the exhibition, which shows a promising future for the inheritance of Thangka art," said Han Shuli, chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Tibet.

Thangka painting is the quintessence of Tibetan Buddhist art and the Manniang Thangka is a masterpiece of Tibetan Thangka art featured with vivid and lifelike painting skills.

The exhibition will end on July 26 and a tour exhibition will start in 12 cities including metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai later.