People visit a giant thangka exhibition in the Sera Monastery of Lhasa, the Xizang autonomous region, marking the start of the annual Shoton Yogurt Festival on Aug 23. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]

Celebrations marking the traditional Shoton Festival, or Yogurt Festival, began in Lhasa, capital of the Xizang autonomous region, on Aug 23.

The monasteries of Drepung and Sera in Lhasa held grand ceremonies to display giant thangkas, religious images embroidered in silk, on the monastery hillsides, signaling the start of the festival.