CHENGDU- Tibetan pilgrims celebrated the traditional Tsong Khapa Butter Lamp Festival at Kirti Monastery in Aba county in Southwest China's Sichuan province over the weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathering in front of a temple at the monastery prostrated in prayer and begged for good fortune.

The entire monastery was bathed in festivity, from the rich smell of butter to flickering lights.

Lighting butter lamps, the pilgrims prayed for health and happiness or the prosperity of the country and its people.

A living Buddha at the Kirti Monastery said this year's festival was operating on a grand scale, with about 15,000 to 20,000 people coming to chant scripture at the monastery.

The festival, which is held on the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar, commemorates Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism.