An ethnic Tibetan monk walks in front of stones shortly before they will be covered by a giant thangka, a sacred painting on cloth, to be displayed on a hill outside a monastery in Tongren, northwest China's Qinghai province Monday February 2, 2009. Local Tibetan monks and pilgrims gather to celebrate Monlam, or Great Prayer Festival, one of the most important festivals in Tibetan Buddhism. [Agencies]