The first Gesar Festival took place earlier this week on the vast grassland in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Region in Sichuan. This cultural holiday created quite a buzzing carnival for the Tibetan people, many of who came from hundreds of kilometers away.

King Gesar is a well-loved legendary figure created by the Tibetan people. He is a hero sent by Goddes of Mercy. He defeated demons and brought peace and prosperity to the common people in Tibet.

On this holiday, in the embrace of nature, beautiful Tibetan women and youthful Tibetan men show off their most splendid side to each other. The beautiful Tibetan women wear their most elaborate attire and literally all the jewelries that they own. It is not surprising to find a woman wearing jewelries that worth tens of thousand US dollars. It is also an occasion for Tibetan men to show off their courage and free spirit. They gather here for traditional dances, storytelling and ballad singing.

(CCTV.com August 30, 2004)