"It's not only a personal honor but, more importantly, it elevates the status and influence of Tibetan operas as a whole," he says.

Tibet has 154 Tibetan Opera performance groups. The regional culture department says the central and local governments have invested nearly 50 million yuan in the protection and inheritance of the art form, and another 24 million yuan in the construction of related facilities.

Tibet now supports 12 national-level inheritors with an annual subsidy of 20,000 yuan, and 15 regional-level inheritors with 10,000 yuan a year.

"We will receive 1.5 million yuan in subsidies from the government as long as we put on 60 performances next year," says Penpa Sinoh, head of a folk opera group in Lhasa, adding that the days of his group members running restaurants and driving taxis to support themselves are over.

Thanks to the booming tourism industry, the troupe does not have to depend on government subsidies to make ends meet. In November, 28 performers from Penpa Sinoh's group staged performances in Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and other cities. Each had earned about 7,000 yuan by the tour's end.

"With support from the government and market, we are confident we can pass along this heritage," Penpa Sinoh says.