西藏现有专业艺术表演团体10个,业余文艺演出队和藏戏表演队500多个,县级民间艺术团19个。拉萨雪顿节、日喀则珠峰文化艺术节、那曲恰青赛马节等一大批群众性文化传统节庆得到继承和创新。西藏大力实施广播电视“村村通”“户户通”、文化信息资源共享、县乡村文化馆(站)等文化惠民工程,综合文化活动中心和县级文化信息资源共享工程实现全覆盖,创作出一大批具有浓郁地方特色、鲜明时代特点、突出时代特征的文化精品,文艺作品的产量和质量大幅提升。
宗教信仰自由得到尊重和保护。在西藏,各宗教、各教派一律平等。藏传佛教特有的活佛转世的传承方式得到充分尊重,寺庙学经、辩经、受戒、灌顶、修行等传统宗教活动和寺庙学经考核晋升学位活动正常进行。西藏各族人民群众的宗教信仰自由得到充分保障。中央人民政府先后将西藏的布达拉宫、大昭寺、扎什伦布寺、哲蚌寺、色拉寺、萨迦寺等著名宗教活动场所列为重点文物保护单位。目前西藏共有1700多处宗教活动场所,僧尼约4.6万人,僧俗信教群众每年都组织和参加萨噶达瓦节等各种各样的宗教和传统活动,每年到拉萨朝佛敬香的信教群众达百万人次以上。
Tibet now has 10 professional art performing troupes, 500-odd amateur art performing and Tibetan opera teams, and 19 folk art performing groups at the county level. A large number of traditional festivals have been inherited and revived, such as the annual Shoton Festival in Lhasa, Qomolangma Cultural and Tourist Festival in Xigaze and Summer Horse Races in Nagqu. Tibet endeavors to extend radio and TV coverage to every village and household, share cultural information and resources and establish cultural centers at the county and township levels to enrich the cultural life of farmers and herdsmen. It also endeavors to realize the complete coverage of comprehensive cultural centers and county-level sharing of cultural information and resources. A number of literary and artistic works and programs have been created which have a strong local flavor and display the features of our times, and there have been great improvement in both quantity and quality.
Freedom of religious belief of all ethnic groups is respected and protected in Tibet. All religions, all religious sects are equal in Tibet. The Living Buddha reincarnation system, unique to Tibetan Buddhism, is fully respected. People are free to learn and debate Buddhist doctrines, get ordained as monks and practice Buddhist rites. Academic degrees in Buddhism are also promoted. The central government has listed some famous sites for religious activities as cultural relics units subject to state or autonomous regional protection, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang, Tashilhunpo, Drepung, Sera and Sakya monasteries. Tibet now has more than 1,700 venues for religious activities, and about 46,000 monks and nuns. Monks and laymen organize and take part in the Sakadawa Festival and other religious and traditional activities every year. More than one million worshi-pers make pilgrimage to Lhasa each year.