Celebrating the New Year The Tibetan Way

The Tibetan people， one group out of 55 ethnic minorities in China， have their own unique calendar. March 2， 2014， marks the Tibetan New Year of the Wooden Horse， the ethnic group’s most important festival of the year.

Celebrated for over 1，000 years， Tibetan New Year has served as a major carrier of Tibetan culture， preserving unique lifestyles of the local people. On May 18， 2010， China’s Ministry of Culture published a list of recommendations of the third group of state-level intangible cultural heritage items， including Tibetan New Year. The applicant was Lhasa， capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Prior to Tibetan New Year in 2014， we visited Tibet to enjoy the celebrations along with local Tibetans.