The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China (29 images)

Tibetan monks carry a giant Thangka of Buddha, or tapestry, up a mountain near the Labrang Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery outside of Lhasa, during the Tibetan Monlam Festival in Xiahe, a small town in Gansu Province on the Tibetan plateau, February 4, 2012. Thousand of Tibetan monks, pilgrims and nomads have converged on the monastery for the annual "Sunning of the Buddha" ritual, in which the world's largest Thangka of Buddha (90ft in length, 40ft in width) is unveiled at first light on the side of a mountain. The Monlam festival, or Great Prayer Festival, is the grandest religious festival in Tibet. UPI/Stephen Shaver UPI/Stephen Shaver

Tibetan monks prepare to unveil a giant Thangka of Buddha, or tapestry, on the side of a mountain near the Labrang Monastery. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Tibetan monks unveil the giant Thangka of Buddha on the side of the mountain near the Labrang Monastery. UPI/Stephen Shaver

A young Tibetan monk endures the cold weather outside the Labrang Monastery. UPI/Stephen Shaver