Annual prayer flag replacement ceremony held at Jokhang Temple

Hundreds of people gathered at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, to attend an annual prayer flag replacement ceremony on Thursday. Changing prayer flags is religious practice to pay homage to Buddha and to seek good luck ahead of the Losar New Year festival.

Accompanied by the sound of horns reverberating through the air, monks and local residents slowly erected giant poles that were wrapped with colorful prayer flags in front of the temple.