a university in northwest china's gansu province has set up courses to cultivate painters of thang-ga, a unique style of painting often described as an encyclopedia of tibetan culture.
gansu normal college for nationalities set up the courses in the hope to preserve the tibetan painting style, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
thang-ga is a tibetan word that refers to scroll paintings mounted with colorful satins and fabrics. the scrolls are hung in palaces, temples, homes, and prayer halls for tibetans to worship.
