Thousands of Buddhists gathered Saturday in monasteries and nunneries in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, to give alms and pray at the annual Buddhist service of Moinlam Qenmo, or "summons ceremony."

To mark the Moinlam Qenmo, one of the biggest religious festivals in Tibet, pilgrims formed long queues inside temples and monasteries, reciting the Buddhist sutra and adding butter into the sacred lamp.

Starting from 8:00 a.m., 820 lamas joined with thousands of pilgrims at Drepung Monastery, one of the major temples in Lhasa, to pack the monastery main hall with a festive atmosphere.

"We pray today for a more peaceful world and a better place for people since the world suffered many misfortunes like SARS last year," said Tsozin Lhamo, director of the Democratic Management Committee of the Cangu Nunnery.

Initiated in 1409 by Tsong Ka-pa, founder of the yellow sect of Tibetan Lamaism, the annual religious event goes from the eighth day to the 15th of the first month of the Tibetan calendar.

"I come to participate in the ceremony every year," said 46- year-old Lobsang Zhaxi, a pilgrim from Qamdo of eastern Tibet. "The ceremony is becoming bigger and bigger every year and more people are coming in."

The worshippers included those from Tibet as well as from neighboring Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. To ensure smooth completion of the week-long event, the regional government had dispatched special teams to the temples to prepare food for and give offerings to the lamas and Buddhist believers.

(Xinhua News Agency February 29, 2004)