When a Living Buddha passes away, it is a rare and grand occasion. People express their condolences and respect for the Buddha by hanging prayer flags on the roof of every home.

As an important folk cultural art form with a religious theme, prayer flags have gained their unique characteristics in the course of their development. Like many other folk arts in Tibet, such as fresco painting, thangka (religious painting on scrolls) and Tibetan sculpture, prayer flags are another exotic flower in the folk art of the Tibetan holy land.