Shilok looks at a traditional Tibetan mask at an exhibition hall of a cooperative in Dagze District of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Dec. 9, 2024. Shilok is an inheritor of a traditional Tibetan mask making technique, a regional intangible cultural heritage with time-consuming procedures including sculpting, layering, air-drying, and painting. In 2012, Shilok set up a cooperative for making Tibetan opera masks with the help of the local government and started to work here with his apprentices. "Most of our orders are from Tibetan opera troupes," Shilok said. In recent years, the cooperative has provided a space for local people to learn mask-making skills, created employment opportunities, and contributed to the protection and development of intangible cultural heritages.
