Tibetan opera, which started in the 14th century, has a history that is about four centuries longer than China's iconic Peking Opera.

During the 14th century, Drupthob Thangtong Gyalpo, a high-ranking monk, decided to build iron bridges across rivers in Tibet to improve transportation links.

Thangtong Gyalpo trekked across the region to raise funds for the building projects.

He learned that many Tibetans loved practicing and watching opera, so he invited seven beautiful women from Tibet's Chonggyai county to join him in a performance.

Donations were raised quickly in every place they performed.

With iron bridges being erected everywhere, Thangtong Gyalpo, who is regarded as the father of Tibetan opera, and his troupe became famous.

There are different schools of classic Tibetan opera, which is performed across the region. The storylines include Tibetan history, Buddhist doctrine, love stories, marriage, and ancient legends of heroes.

A ground in the middle of a village, an open field or a big tent often serve as performance areas for Tibetan opera.

Traditional Tibetan opera usually has 16 actors performing who wear masks from the beginning to the end. Performances can take from less than two hours to seven days.

There are 154 opera troupes and 14 national-level cultural inheritors of the art form in the Tibet autonomous region, according to the Tibet People's Art Center.