The yak bone-made porcelain Thangka, a unique painting art form in the traditional culture of Xizang, is gaining increasing popularity in the overseas market, catching limelight for its unique ethnic patterns and compositions.
In Lhasa City of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, students from Xizang Vocational Technical College have been receiving training to draw Thangka – a unique painting art form in the traditional culture of Xizang – at a local base for integration of production and education.
Thangka paintings are Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings on cotton or silk with mineral and organic pigments derived from coral, agate, sapphire, pearl, gold, and other sources so that the color lasts for centuries. The paintings date back to the 10th century and typically depict Buddhist deities.
Usually drawn on cotton or silk, Thangka paintings are hard to be put on porcelain. However, after six years of study and development, researchers have found ways to integrate Thangka with porcelain.
In 2023, a Thangka painting on yak bone porcelain made by a teacher from the base was collected in two million yuan (about 275,375 U.S. dollars). This has brought great confidence to students.
"I think it's a really good choice. So I'm learning the basics of Thangka painting from teachers," said a student of Xizang Vocational Technical College.
The researchers also discovered that using yak bone char as well as kaolinite and clay will make porcelain even brighter.
Therefore, delicate tableware has been rolling out of the production line, and then sold abroad.
"At the 2024 spring version of Canton Fair, we received export orders of 2.7 million U.S. dollars," said Li Chuchu, vice president of a local company.
Innovative yak bone-made porcelain Thangka produced in Xizang gains popularity at overseas market
Russia reported on Saturday intercepting eight U.S.-made missiles and downing dozens of drones, while Ukraine claimed to have fended off multiple Russian assaults, according to their daily updates.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported Saturday that its forces had captured a settlement in the Luhansk region, while its air-defense systems intercepted eight U.S.-made missiles and downed 72 drones.
In addition, Russian forces claimed to have struck multiple Ukrainian military airports, drone assembly facilities, and warehouses.
The Russian Ministry of Defense further stated that over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces along the Kursk front suffered more than 540 casualties and lost four tanks.
On the same day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that 107 battles had taken place across the frontlines by Saturday afternoon.
Ukrainian forces successfully repelled Russian attacks in Kharkiv, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove, with several battles still underway.
Moreover, Ukraine claimed to have fended off nine Russian attacks in Russia's Kursk region, with five clashes ongoing.
In an interview with The New York Times, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. had been supplying weapons to Ukraine even before the Ukraine crisis broke out.
The secretary said that the U.S. began supplying weapons to Ukraine in September 2021 and offered additional support in December 2021, including air defense systems and anti-tank missiles.
According to Blinken, these military supplies were intended to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves.
In response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Russia has repeatedly condemned U.S. and NATO military support for Ukraine, as well as NATO's long-standing military exercises in the Black Sea.
She added that these actions by the West were a key factor behind Russia's decision to launch its special military operation, one of the objectives of which is to demilitarize Ukraine and ensure Russia's security.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Friday outlined ten priorities of his government's agenda for 2025, with securing funding for defense and security as the country's key priority.
He also highlighted maintaining financial stability as a key focus, while restoring and protecting energy infrastructure is expected to be one of the most challenging tasks of the year.
Ukraine's defense and security budget for 2025 is set to reach a record high of 2.23 trillion hryvnias (about 53 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 62 percent of the country's total budget and 26.3 percent of its GDP.
Additionally, the country plans to produce at least 30,000 long-range drones, along with about 3,000 cruise missiles and drone-guided missiles this year, according to the prime minister.
Russia claims missile interception, Ukraine reports repelling Russian attacks
