**Style

The style of wind horse flags varies a lot in different areas. In Tibet, flags are made from small pieces of cloth and are hung on a thin rope, quite like the small colorful flags in Beijing that welcome foreign heads of state. The Tibetans also like to draw a line of wind horse flags between two mountaintops or over the spacious streets of Lhasa.

In areas where the militant Kangba people live, the prayer flags look a little like the combat flags of ancient times. A mast with strips of cloth hanging from it is placed in the mountains. Sometimes, such masts can be seen over an area of about 600 square meters, and when looked at from a distance, resemble the red broomcorn plant.

Another type of prayer flag is made in the shape of a tower, with a piece of printed cloth wound layer on layer around a pillar, forming a Buddhist tower in the field and providing Tibetans with shade in the hot weather. The men in the shadow of a hanging prayer flag are said to have good luck!

**Making and hanging prayer flags

The process of making prayer flags is similar to that of making Tibetan scripture and wooden Buddhist carvings. First, painters and calligraphers are invited to paint the images and write the scripture on a piece of paper or a board, and then folk-carving craftsmen are asked to carve the pictures and scripture in detail onto a motherboard, which is then used to print the design on a piece of colorful cloth or paper. Harmonious spacing is important to the correct design of the wind-horse carving, as is the color contrast, the subtle combination of pictures and scriptures and the vividness of the overall flavor and tone.

The hanging of prayer flags is more flexible and is not confined to one pattern. Generally speaking, there are five hanging patterns: the first and the most common pattern is to arrange the flags in the shape of the Chinese character "һ" (meaning "one"); The second is to attach a flag to a mast measuring ten-odd meters in height. Next comes the particularly beautiful "tower pattern" in which the flags are hung around a pillar in the shape of an umbrella, forming a hollow tower. The "encircling pattern" is most often seen around Buddhist pagodas , or pagoda groups. Another pattern is the so-called "embattling pattern", well known for its large scale and intense patterns. Prayer flags arranged in this pattern are reputed to be the most spectacular land art in the world.

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