Artist displays pride in culture

Growing up in the Regong region of the Huangnan Tibetan autonomous prefecture in southeastern Qinghai, Nyingbum's family and village faced poverty. With two younger brothers and four elder sisters, he took on the responsibility of supporting his family and began an apprenticeship under thangka master Shawo Tsering, who was a student of renowned artist Zhang Daqian, one of the most famous Chinese artists of the 20th century.

Initially, painting thangka was merely a way for Nyingbum to earn money, but he soon developed a deep passion and talent for it. Over the years, he became dedicated to studying Regong thangka painting.

In August 2006, he established and became the director of the Qinghai Huangnan Regong Painting Institute, the first thangka art institute in the region.

"Our goal in starting this institute was to open up learning opportunities for more people," he says. "Traditionally, this art was passed down within families, from father to son, but that just wasn't enough.

"At first, I could only take in about a dozen kids to study at my place, but now we can accept more than 70 each year."

The institute covers 120,000 square meters with a building area of 7,000 sq m focusing on protecting, preserving and promoting the intangible cultural heritage of Regong thangka, as well as training local artists. He says the large space allows more children to learn and engage with the art.

"Every year, we check how many students graduate and how many new kids we can take in. Our institute is really here for kids from low-income families, the 'left-behind' children (who remain in rural areas while their parents migrate to cities for work). We cover their meals, housing and education, all free of charge," he says.