2013 Lhasa Shoton Festival will kick off from August 6 to 12 in Lhasa with a splendid Tibet cultural specific performance, according to a news conference in Beijing held by Lhasa government and China Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.

This year’s festival will maintain its focus on the three traditional celebrations: Buddha unfolding ceremony, Tibet drama, Tibet Yoghourt. 2013 slogan is “Beautiful Home, Happy Lhasa” around which a chain of celebrations will be carried out including a symposium on “Chinese dream”, a theme song composition competition, a music summit forum, Tibet drama performances, exhibitions on Thangka painting, Tibet calligraphy, painting and photographic works, a Shoton night concert, etc.

These activities aim to brand the festival into a grand international carnival that appeals to external investment, human resources, and domestic and overseas tourists.

“Shoton” in Tibet language means “Yoghourt banquet”. Shoton festival dates back to the middle 11th century. It is now on the list of China’s intangible cultural heritage. As an embodiment of the splendid Tibetan traditional culture, it enhances cultural exchange with other countries and turns out a convincing identity card of a beautiful Tibet and a diversified China to the rest of the world.