"The residents were cautious and distant at first," Lhamo said. "They did not quite understand what I wanted to do by taking a group of children there." Locals later found out that Lhamo simply wanted to find a place to teach the students to paint Thangka.

Lhamo started learning Thangka from his father at the age of 7. As his skills progressed, he wanted to find a professional teacher, but to no avail.

"At that time, I decided that in the future, I wanted to become a good teacher myself to pass on the art to the younger generation," he said.

Decades of training turned Lhamo into a seasoned and renowned Thangka painter, drawing many students in admiration. Lhamo rarely turned away any students, and he never took any tuition from them.