Shoton FestivalOrigins of the Shoton Festival

The name “Shoton” itself contains rich cultural information. In Tibetan, “sho” (ཞོ་, zho) means “yoghurt” or “curd,” and “ton” (སྟོན་, ston) means “eating” or “feast.” Combined, “Shoton” means “the festival of eating yoghurt” or “the yoghurt feast.” This deceptively simple name encapsulates the thousand‑year‑old, unbroken affection between the Tibetan people and yoghurt.

The fondness for yoghurt has been one of the longstanding customs of the Tibetan people, who have lived for generations on the snowy plateau. The unique natural environment of the Qinghai‑Tibet Plateau—high altitude, strong sunshine, and large temperature differences between day and night—has nurtured a distinctive pastoral culture. The yak is the most important livestock for the plateau herders, yielding rich and thick milk. Fermenting yak milk into yoghurt not only makes it easier to preserve but also creates a uniquely flavoured food. Yoghurt holds a special place in Tibetan food culture—it is both an everyday food, a sacrificial offering, and a delicacy for honoured guests. The reason yoghurt became the central “prop” of the Shoton Festival is also deeply connected to the disciplinary system of Tibetan Buddhism. In the Vinaya (monastic rules) of Tibetan Buddhism, monks and novices observe the “summer retreat” (Yarne, 夏安居) during the summer months, during which they are forbidden to go out. When the monks finally emerge from the monastery after their long retreat, the laypeople offer them yoghurt—both as a sign of respect for the monks’ spiritual achievements and as a response to their compassionate spirit. From that point on, yoghurt was no longer merely a food; it was elevated to a cultural symbol carrying faith, gratitude, and blessings.

Because of the Tibetan opera performances and the giant thangka (唐卡, religious painting) unfurling ceremony, the Shoton Festival also has other names, such as “Tibetan Opera Festival” and “Thangka Unfurling Festival.” Each alternative name reveals a different facet of the festival—“Yoghurt Festival” reveals its culinary and cultural foundation; “Tibetan Opera Festival” reveals its artistic and celebratory aspect; “Thangka Unfurling Festival” reveals its sacred religious core. These three dimensions—food, art, and religion—together constitute the rich and multi‑faceted cultural profile of the Shoton Festival.

The origin of the Shoton Festival is not singular but the gradual convergence of two cultural strands over a long history. These two strands are: the monastic disciplinary system of the “summer retreat” in Tibetan Buddhism—this is the fundamental institutional source of the festival; and the popular legend of the Indian master Atiśa (阿底峡, 982–1054), who loved yoghurt—this infused the festival with a warm, humanistic sentiment. These two currents converged from different directions to form the foundation of the Shoton Festival.

The Summer Retreat (夏安居, Yarne)

The origin of the Shoton Festival is most fundamentally rooted in the “summer retreat” system of Tibetan Buddhism. Before the 17th century, the Shoton Festival was a primitive religious celebration. Popular tradition holds that as summer warms up, insects awaken and all life revives; during this time, if monks go out, they may unintentionally step on and kill living beings, violating the precept against taking life. Therefore, the Gelug school’s monastic rules stipulate that from the fourth to the sixth month of the Tibetan calendar, monks should remain in their monasteries for scripture study and spiritual practice, and may not leave until the end of the sixth month.

The summer retreat is an important system in the Buddhist monastic community (Sangha). According to Buddhist scriptures, in ancient India the rainy season lasted up to three months; during this time, vegetation grew lush and insects proliferated, and if monks travelled, they would trample life. Thus, the Buddha established the retreat system, requiring monks to stay in one place during the rainy season to cultivate diligently and not go out. This system was transmitted to Tibet with Buddhism and adapted to the unique geographical and climatic conditions of the Qinghai‑Tibet Plateau. The Tibetan Buddhist summer retreat begins in the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar and ends in the sixth month. This period coincides with the plateau summer—snow melts, grass and trees grow, insects emerge—the most active season for life in nature. The founder of the Gelug school, Tsongkhapa (宗喀巴, 1357–1419), established strict summer‑retreat rules for monks, stipulating that during summer they should only practice indoors and not go outside, because summer is the most active season for all kinds of living beings on the plateau. Tsongkhapa’s reforms made the Gelug discipline more rigorous and made the summer retreat an indispensable part of monastery life.

During the three‑month summer retreat, monks perform the rituals of “Sojong” (长净, confession and recitation of precepts, held every half‑month) and “Yarne” (夏安居, summer retreat and meditation). In Sojong, the monastic community gathers to recite the precepts, examine their conduct, and confess their faults. In Yarne, monks stay inside, devoted to study, scripture, and meditation. “Monks generally do not step out of doors” is the most basic requirement during this period. For tens of days, monks cannot leave the monastery gates for fear of treading on life. This strict practice not only upholds the precept of non‑killing but also tests the monks’ concentration and diligence. During the summer retreat, monks are like practitioners in closed retreat—cut off from the outside world and focused entirely on inner cultivation.

On the day the ban is lifted at the end of the sixth month, the monks leave the monasteries and descend the mountains. To reward the monks, laypeople prepare yoghurt and hold outdoor picnics for them, and perform Tibetan opera at the celebration. This is the origin of the Shoton Festival. The evolution from “summer retreat” to “Shoton Festival” exemplifies the transformation of a religious institution into a folk festival. The summer retreat was originally an internal monastic practice with no direct connection to the laity. However, when the laity learned that the monks had undergone months of ascetic practice, out of respect and gratitude they offered yoghurt to the monks and celebrated the lifting of the ban. This interaction between clergy and laity gradually gave rise to a secular festival tradition from a purely religious system. In the word “Shoton,” “sho” is yoghurt and “ton” is feast—the laity’s yoghurt banquet for the monks is the most original form of the festival. The Buddhist ideal of compassion—non‑killing and respect for life—is embodied in the summer‑retreat system; the laity’s offering of yoghurt is a response and affirmation of that compassionate ideal. The monks’ practice and the laity’s offering constitute the deepest cultural structure of the Shoton Festival.

The Legend of Atiśa

Among the Tibetan people, another legend about the origin of the Shoton Festival is widely told. This legend is associated with the great Indian Buddhist master Atiśa (阿底峡, 982–1054), who is regarded as the forerunner of the later propagation of Buddhism in Tibet.

Atiśa was one of the most eminent monks of the later transmission period of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in the ancient kingdom of Sahor (in present‑day Bangladesh) and was one of the most renowned Buddhist masters in India at that time. In 1042, at the invitation of the Guge kingdom in Ngari, Atiśa entered Tibet via Nepal, stayed in Ngari for three years, and later travelled through Ü‑Tsang (central Tibet) to Lhasa. In his later years, he settled at Nyethang Monastery (also known as Nyedang Monastery, 聂塘寺), about 20 kilometres southwest of Lhasa, where he taught Buddhist philosophy and wrote treatises until his passing in 1054. Although Atiśa lived in Tibet for only thirteen years, he had a profound impact on Tibetan Buddhism. He systematically expounded the stages of Buddhist practice and wrote important works such as *The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment* (《菩提道灯论》, Bodhipathapradīpa), laying a solid doctrinal foundation for the later propagation of Buddhism in Tibet. He is revered by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism as the “founder of the later transmission,” and his status is extremely high.

It is said that Master Atiśa was especially fond of yoghurt. Every summer, the people near Nyethang Monastery, where he resided, would offer him yoghurt. He always sincerely thanked them and bestowed blessings: “Whoever offers yoghurt—their livestock shall not fall ill, shall not be lost, and shall not be harmed by wild beasts.” The master’s blessings spread far and wide, and more and more people came to offer yoghurt. People believed that Atiśa’s blessings had magical power to protect their livestock from disease, loss, and wild animals. For Tibetan herders, livestock are the family’s most important wealth and the very foundation of survival. Atiśa’s blessing—that livestock would not fall ill, be lost, or be harmed—was precisely the herders’ deepest wish. This wish resonated strongly with the pastoral society’s concerns, giving the custom of offering yoghurt a broad popular base. The custom of offering yoghurt to monks in summer thus continued. Every summer, people near Nyethang Monastery would offer yoghurt to the master, and he would always thank them and bless them. Later, though Atiśa had passed away, the custom of offering yoghurt to monks persisted, gradually spreading from Nyethang Monastery to the entire Lhasa region, and from offering to Atiśa alone to offering to all monks. The tradition of offering yoghurt to the monastic community in summer thus endured.

The legend of Atiśa and the system of the summer retreat explain the origin of the Shoton Festival from two different angles. The summer‑retreat system emphasises the festival’s “institutional” root—it is a product of Tibetan Buddhist monastic discipline; the Atiśa legend emphasises the festival’s “popular” root—it is a natural result of the laity’s reverence for and offerings to a great master. The two are not contradictory but mutually reinforcing—precisely because a master of Atiśa’s eminence resided in Tibet, the laity formed the habit of making offerings to monks; and precisely because of the summer‑retreat system, the time of offering became fixed to the lifting of the ban in summer. The system provided the “framework” of the festival; the legend gave it “warmth”—together they shaped the unique character of the Shoton Festival.

Early Form (before the 17th Century)

Before the 17th century, the Shoton Festival was a purely religious activity. At that time, the festival was far from the grand celebration of thangka‑unfurling, Tibetan opera, and garden parties known today; its scope was limited to the monasteries, and its participants were mainly monks and a few devout followers.

The core of the Shoton Festival before the 17th century was the ceremony of lifting the summer‑retreat ban. Monks would perform religious activities in the monastery—chanting sutras, confessing faults, and dedicating merits—thanking the Buddha for his blessings and the successful completion of the retreat. There were no Tibetan opera performances, no grand thangka‑unfurling ceremonies, and no large‑scale participation by the laity. The literal meaning of “Shoton”—the festival of eating yoghurt—was a true reflection of that era: laypeople offered yoghurt to monks, and monks accepted it; that was all. The activities of “Shoton” were confined to the monastery. At that time, according to Buddhist precepts, to avoid inadvertently killing small insects while going out, monks had to observe a long retreat during the summer months, which lasted several dozen days, until the ban was lifted. On the day the ban was lifted, laypeople prepared yoghurt as alms for the monks when they came down from the mountains—this is the origin of “Shoton.” It was an extremely simple religious observance, without the artistic and recreational elements of later times.

The Shoton Festival before the 17th century is described as a “primitive religious festival.” “Primitive” here does not mean that its religious content was primitive, but that its form was still in an “original” state—not yet transformed by art, secularisation, or mass participation, and still retaining the most authentic face of a religious ritual. At this stage, the rituals were simple, participation limited, and content singular, but it laid the most solid religious foundation for the festival’s later flourishing. It was precisely on the basis of this purely religious activity that later generations gradually added Tibetan opera performances, thangka‑unfurling ceremonies, public garden parties, and other rich cultural contents. Without the summer‑retreat system, there would be no temporal anchor for the Shoton Festival; without the custom of yoghurt offerings, there would be no name or core image. Although the Shoton Festival before the 17th century was simple, it was the “source water” of the entire festival tradition.

Mid‑17th Century

The year 1642 was a critical turning point in the history of the Shoton Festival. In that year, with the military support of Gushri Khan of the Khoshut Mongols, the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism overthrew the Tsangpa regime and formally established its theocratic rule over Tibet. The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (阿旺·罗桑嘉措, 1617–1682), became the temporal and spiritual leader of Tibet, and the Gelug school became the most influential sect.

After the Gelug school came to power, the Ganden Podrang (甘丹颇章) palace at Drepung Monastery (哲蚌寺), where the Fifth Dalai Lama resided, became the political, religious, and cultural centre of Tibet. Drepung Monastery was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Chöje Tashi Palden (绛央曲杰·扎西班丹), a disciple of Tsongkhapa, and is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school, as well as the largest monastery in Tibet. During the Fifth Dalai Lama’s residence at Drepung, the Ganden Podrang was not only the Dalai Lama’s personal quarters but also the seat of the Tibetan government. Drepung Monastery, as the cradle of the Shoton Festival, provided the initial space and ritual framework for the festival. Every year on the 30th day of the sixth month in the Tibetan calendar, tens of thousands of people flocked to Drepung Monastery to offer yoghurt to the Fifth Dalai Lama and the monks, and to request blessings through head‑touching (摩顶, a ritual of blessing). The Shoton Festival’s content became richer, and Tibetan opera performances began to be included. According to records, the Tibetan opera troupes that participated in the Shoton Festival performances included the following twelve groups: Tashishölpa (扎西雪巴), Jiongpa (迥巴), Jianggar (降嘎尔), Shangpa (香巴), Juelong (觉木隆), Tazhong (塔仲), Lhündrubgang (伦珠岗), Langzewa (朗则娃), Bindunba (宾顿巴), Ruonieg’a (若捏嘎), Xirong Zhongzi (希荣仲孜), and Gongbu Zhuo’ba (贡布卓巴).

Tens of thousands of people poured into Drepung Monastery to offer yoghurt to the Fifth Dalai Lama and request his blessing through head‑touching. Head‑touching is an important empowerment ritual in Tibetan Buddhism—a great master places his hand on the devotee’s head, transmitting the blessing power of the Dharma. As the temporal and spiritual leader of Tibet, the Fifth Dalai Lama’s head‑touching blessing carried immense religious authority and social influence. The laity’s offering of yoghurt to the Dalai Lama was both a continuation of the summer tradition of offering yoghurt to monks and a political act of respect toward the theocratic leader. The Dalai Lama’s acceptance of the yoghurt and bestowal of blessings was an acknowledgment and response to the people’s offerings. This interaction between clergy and laity, between religion and politics, gradually gave the Shoton Festival political and social dimensions beyond its purely religious character. This festival, with a history of more than 300 years, can in a sense be called a “Tibetan opera festival.”

When Tibetan opera first entered the Shoton Festival, its scope was still confined to the monastery, initially centred at Drepung Monastery, and hence it was called the “Drepung Shoton Festival.” After the Fifth Dalai Lama moved from Drepung to the Potala Palace, the Shoton Festival on the 30th day of the sixth month each year would still begin with Tibetan opera performances at Drepung, and the following day the troupe would perform at the Potala Palace for the Dalai Lama. This pattern of “first Drepung, then Potala” reflects the spatial expansion of the festival from Drepung to the Potala, and its functional extension from a monastic festival to a court festival. The performances at Drepung were religious in nature, for monks and lay believers; the performances at the Potala were court performances for the Dalai Lama and the nobility. The coexistence of both types of performances gave the Shoton Festival a dual religious and political character. Thus, three parallel celebrations emerged in Lhasa: the Drepung Shoton, the Potala Shoton, and the Norbulingka Shoton.

Early 18th Century

After the construction of the Norbulingka (罗布林卡) in the early 18th century, the Shoton Festival activities moved again from the Potala Palace to Norbulingka, and ordinary citizens were allowed to enter the park to watch Tibetan opera. Thereafter, the festival became more complete and developed into a fixed traditional ceremonial celebration. The completion of Norbulingka marked the final transformation of the Shoton Festival from a monastic and court festival into a festival for all the people.

Norbulingka, located in the western suburbs of Lhasa, means “Treasure Garden” in Tibetan. It was built in the 1740s (during the time of the Seventh Dalai Lama). It served as the summer palace of successive Dalai Lamas and is the largest and most beautiful garden complex in Tibet. Norbulingka provided a brand‑new space for the Shoton Festival—no longer the cramped halls of a monastery nor the forbidding grounds of a palace, but an open garden, beautiful courtyards, and lawns that could accommodate tens of thousands of people. This spatial change provided the physical conditions for the festival’s transformation from religious ritual to secular carnival.

After Norbulingka was completed in the early 18th century, the Shoton Festival activities moved from the Potala to Norbulingka, and citizens were allowed to enter the garden to watch Tibetan opera. This change was monumental—the Shoton Festival was no longer the exclusive preserve of monks and aristocrats; it was now open to all urban residents. The participation of ordinary people enriched the festival’s content and enlivened its atmosphere. People could not only watch Tibetan opera but also picnic, drink, sing, dance, and play games in the gardens. The traditional Shoton Festival began with the thangka‑unfurling ceremony, followed by Tibetan opera performances and garden gatherings, and also included exciting yak races and equestrian shows. On the lawns of Norbulingka, people set up tents and spread cushions; whole families sat together, enjoying yoghurt, drinking barley wine, and watching Tibetan opera. This custom of “going to the garden” (过林卡, lingka) gave the Shoton Festival a rich flavour of daily life.

For 200 years, Lhasa had three parallel Shoton celebrations—Drepung Shoton, Potala Shoton, and Norbulingka Shoton—with Norbulingka as the centre. This “tripod” configuration reflects the layered development of the festival across different historical periods and spaces—Drepung represents the religious source, the Potala represents political intervention, and Norbulingka represents secular celebration. These three layers accumulated over time, ultimately forming the festival structure we see today: the Drepung thangka‑unfurling as the prelude, the Norbulingka opera performances and garden gatherings as the main body, and the mass celebration and blessings as the finale.

Thangka‑Unfurling Ceremony (晒佛, also known as “Displaying the Buddha”)

The thangka‑unfurling ceremony is the most awe‑inspiring religious event of the Shoton Festival and the true beginning of the festival. This ceremony, which has a history of three hundred years, generally begins around 8 a.m. on the 30th day of the sixth month in the Tibetan calendar. On this day each year, a gigantic thangka of the Buddha is slowly revealed to the world, heralding the start of a great festival of celebration.

The prelude to the Shoton Festival is the thangka‑unfurling at Drepung Monastery. On that day, before dawn, people gather from all directions at the foot of Gephel Uise (更乌培孜) hill, where Drepung Monastery is located, for the grand ceremony. Long before daybreak, streams of pilgrims climb the hill in the dark; the area around Drepung is packed with the faithful, and the incense‑burning stoves (煨桑炉) are thronged with people. As the time for the unfurling approaches, accompanied by the sound of ceremonial horns echoing through the valley, nearly a hundred monks slowly carry the huge silk thangka, rolled like a dragon, out of the Great Assembly Hall (Tsokchen, 措钦大殿) of Drepung and up to the special platform on the west side of the monastery. Soon the enormous thangka is gradually unfurled from top to bottom; white scarves (khata, 哈达) fly toward the image, creating a spectacular scene. Normally, the giant thangka is stored deep within the monastery; from a preservation standpoint, periodic airing is beneficial, so the ceremony is also called “sun‑bathing the Buddha” (晒佛). Within less than an hour, the thangka is rolled up again and carried back to the Great Assembly Hall.

The thangka‑unfurling is not only a visual feast but also a powerful expression of faith. For followers of Tibetan Buddhism, gazing upon the giant Buddha image is an extremely auspicious religious experience. The unfurling of the image symbolises the illumination of the world by the Buddha’s Dharma; the faithful pray before the image, offer scarves, and prostrate themselves, seeking the Buddha’s blessings and protection. The giant thangka usually depicts Shakyamuni Buddha or Maitreya (the future Buddha), is exquisitely embroidered with fine silk brocade, and is normally kept hidden in the monastery; it is shown to the public only during the Shoton Festival. Regular airing serves both to preserve the artefact (preventing damp, insect damage, and mildew) and to symbolically let the Buddha’s light shine upon the world and allow the faithful to behold his countenance. The thangka‑unfurling ceremony attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists to Drepung Monastery. People come from every corner of Lhasa, from every region of Tibet, and even from Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan, converging on the slopes of Drepung. The smoke of burning juniper (煨桑) fills the valley, the long‑sounding horns echo across the sky, and khata scarves fly like snowflakes before the Buddha image. The thangka‑unfurling is not only the prelude to the Shoton Festival but also the most sacred moment of the Lhasa summer. Only after this ceremony do the other activities—Tibetan opera, garden gatherings, yak races, equestrian shows—unfold. The thangka‑unfurling establishes the religious tone of the festival, ensuring that this carnival‑like celebration retains a degree of holiness and solemnity.

Tibetan Opera Performances (藏戏, Ache Lhamo)

If the thangka‑unfurling is the prelude, then Tibetan opera is the soul of the Shoton Festival. Because the festival features opera performances as its main attraction, it is also called the “Tibetan Opera Festival.” The integration of Tibetan opera with the Shoton Festival elevated the festival from a purely religious observance to a comprehensive celebration combining religion, art, and entertainment.

Tibetan opera is an ancient theatrical form; its origins can be traced back about 1,200 years, to the mid‑Tang dynasty, and it took initial shape in the 14th‑15th centuries, during the time of the legendary figure Thangtong Gyalpo (唐东杰布, 1385–1464). Thangtong Gyalpo is considered the father of Tibetan opera. He was a Kagyu monk and a famous bridge‑builder in Tibet. According to legend, in order to raise funds for bridge construction, Thangtong Gyalpo adapted Buddhist stories into dramatic performances and organised local people to perform them, thereby spreading the Dharma and raising funds. This combination of Buddhist narratives with theatrical performance established the tradition of Tibetan opera. Tibetan opera integrates Buddhist stories, Tibetan history, folk tales, and other elements; its performance style is robust and passionate, its singing high‑pitched and resonant, its masks colourful, and its costumes elaborate and splendid. The repertoire mainly consists of Buddhist birth stories (Jataka tales) and historical legends, such as *Princess Wencheng*, *Prince Norsang*, *Drigum Choegyal*, and others, which serve both to teach Buddhist morality and to provide aesthetic entertainment.

When Tibetan opera first became part of the Shoton Festival, its scope was limited to the monastery, initially centring on Drepung Monastery, and thus it was called the “Drepung Shoton Festival.” According to records, the twelve opera troupes participating in the Shoton Festival performances were: Tashishölpa, Jiongpa, Jianggar, Shangpa, Juelong, Tazhong, Lhündrubgang, Langzewa, Bindunba, Ruonieg’a, Xirong Zhongzi, and Gongbu Zhuo’ba. These twelve troupes came from various parts of Tibet and represented the opera arts of different regions and schools. They gathered in Lhasa every year during the Shoton Festival, competing and exchanging with one another, making the festival the highest showcase for Tibetan opera. After the Fifth Dalai Lama moved from Drepung to the Potala Palace, the Shoton Festival on the 30th day of the sixth month each year would always feature opera performances first at Drepung, and on the following day at the Potala for the Dalai Lama. In the early 18th century, after Norbulingka was built, the activities moved again to Norbulingka, and citizens were allowed to enter the park to watch the operas.

The integration of Tibetan opera and the Shoton Festival has been mutually beneficial. Tibetan opera provides the festival with its most essential cultural content—without opera, the festival would be only a yoghurt‑eating ritual and could hardly become a grand celebration lasting several days; the festival provides opera with its most important performance platform—without the gathering at Shoton, Tibetan opera would have struggled to remain vibrant and pass from generation to generation over the centuries. The festival is made splendid by the opera, and the opera is transmitted through the festival. Even today, Tibetan opera performances remain the core of the Shoton Festival. During the festival each year, opera performances are staged continuously in Norbulingka Park, drawing huge audiences. Actors wear gorgeous costumes and exquisite masks, sing in high, resonant voices, and enact ancient Buddhist stories. In 2009, Tibetan opera was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Shoton Festival and Tibetan opera, as two intangible cultural heritage items—one a festival and the other an art form—together form the most brilliant cultural landscape of Tibet.

Going to the Garden (过林卡, Lingka)

“Going to the garden” is the most life‑affirming part of the Shoton Festival. In Tibetan, “lingka” means “garden” or “park,” and “going to the garden” means picnicking, playing, and relaxing in a garden setting. During the Shoton Festival, Tibetan people dress in their finest festive clothes, bring yoghurt, barley wine (chang), butter tea, dried meat, and other foods, and go to Norbulingka or other gardens. There they set up tents, spread out cushions, and gather with family or friends to enjoy the most pleasant time of the year.

Norbulingka is the central venue for “going to the garden” during the Shoton Festival. This 360,000‑square‑metre garden is shaded by trees, filled with blooming flowers, and dotted with pavilions and halls, making it the most beautiful public space in Lhasa. During the festival, Norbulingka becomes an ocean of joy. People pour in from all directions, setting up colourful tents on the lawns, spreading brightly coloured carpets, and laying out abundant food. Children chase and play on the grass; young men and women sing and dance under the shade of trees; the elderly sit in their tents, tasting yoghurt and chatting about everyday life.

As the “festival of eating yoghurt,” yoghurt holds an irreplaceable place in the Shoton Festival. During the festival, yoghurt is not only daily food but also a symbol of the celebration. People offer yoghurt to monks, serve it to guests, and enjoy it to mark the festival. Tibetan yoghurt is made with a unique technique—yak milk is boiled, cooled, mixed with a starter culture, and fermented in a warm environment for several hours, resulting in a thick, rich yoghurt. For the Shoton Festival, the yoghurt is often made with extra care; some add sugar, some honey, some the fruit of the Tibetan ginseng (人参果), creating various flavours. In Tibetan culture, yoghurt is not just food but also a carrier of blessings. From Atiśa’s tradition of blessing those who offered him yoghurt, to the custom of laypeople offering yoghurt to monks emerging from retreat, yoghurt has always carried the meanings of gratitude, blessing, and good fortune. Tasting a bowl of yoghurt during the Shoton Festival is not only a sensory pleasure but also a cultural experience.

Yak Races and Equestrian Shows

During the Shoton Festival, there are also thrilling yak races and equestrian performances. Yak racing is a traditional Tibetan sport: riders mount yaks and race across the grasslands, a rough and passionate spectacle. Equestrian shows are even more spectacular—riders perform difficult manoeuvres on horseback, such as standing upside down, picking up objects, and shooting arrows while galloping, demonstrating the Tibetans’ superb horsemanship and their special bond with horses. These sporting events add vigour and passion to the festival, making it not only religiously solemn and artistically beautiful but also athletically exciting.

Intangible Cultural Heritage List

In May 2006, the Shoton Festival was approved by the State Council and included in the first batch of China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage list, with the heritage number Ⅹ‑31. The Shoton Festival is an important Tibetan festival and a concrete expression of the continuous transmission of Tibetan culture. Celebrating this festival well is of positive significance for Tibetans to maintain their cultural uniqueness, strengthen ethnic unity, and uphold the world’s cultural diversity.

Hosting and Promotion by the Lhasa Municipal Government

Since 1994, when it was taken over by the Lhasa Municipal Government, the Shoton Festival has gradually evolved into a comprehensive celebration that integrates traditional thangka‑unfurling, Tibetan opera performances, trade and investment talks, and tourism. In recent years, the Lhasa municipal government has continued to promote the internationalisation of the festival, hoping to use this traditional event to showcase Tibet’s cultural diversity and ethnic unity to the world.

During the 2023 Lhasa Shoton Festival, under the strong leadership of the municipal party committee and government, a number of events were successfully held, including the opening ceremony at the main venue and sub‑venues, the Lhasa premiere of the original musical *Heavenly Dream* (《天梦》), the finals of the “Song of Lhasa” singing competition, and the “Highland Lights the Dream—Lhasa Internet Civilization Night,” as well as five Tibetan opera performances in Zongjok Lukang (宗角禄康) Park. Lhasa has made great efforts to turn the traditional Shoton Festival into a “Shoton feast” combining artistic performances, traditional sport exhibitions, investment talks, and forum speeches. During the festival, Norbulingka Park becomes an ocean of joy, bringing happiness and wonderful experiences to citizens and tourists alike, and allowing traditional culture to radiate new vitality in the new era.

Contemporary Significance

The Shoton Festival retains its vigorous vitality in contemporary society. Every year from the 29th day to the 1st day of the seventh month in the Tibetan calendar, the festival arrives as scheduled, attracting hundreds of thousands of domestic and international visitors. The Shoton Festival has become an important platform for showcasing Tibetan religion, art, and way of life. It is not only a concrete form of cultural inheritance and an enrichment of public cultural life, but also an important driver for the high‑quality development of Tibet’s cultural and tourism industries. The festival’s contemporary transmission preserves the traditional core—thangka‑unfurling and Tibetan opera—while incorporating new elements such as modern performances and business talks, achieving an organic integration of tradition and modernity.