As the artistic expedition endured, more and more people teamed up with Genqiu to help him with the mission of integrating The Epic of King Gesar with the art of Thangka painting, Tibetan opera singing and Tibetan folk singing.

With warm support from King Gesar researchers, Thangka painters and local government, the project snowballed into a huge cultural endeavor that has attracted attention from across the country, according to Zeren Jimei, chief marketing director for the project.

Still, the project, which has incurred over 23 million yuan ($3.35 million) in costs, presented a challenge for the artists. The lack of authoritative blueprints on the Thangka series made it hard to create the collection, says Qiudengzi, a Tibetologist from Garze and chief literary scriptwriter for the King Gesar Epic Thangka Series.

At least 100 versions of the legend about King Gesar have been found circulating among ballad singers, Qiudengzi explains. Although basic rules are respected by all painters, he says the stories of King Gesar are plentiful and portrayals of the King vary from one painting school to another, and from region to region across China.

Therefore, to guarantee the depictions of the King and the epic's 30 other key characters, ancient weapons and daily events were kept in line with historical records and widely recognized oral narrations, a band of researchers, folklorists and Thangka painters have traveled to Sichuan, Tibet, Qinghai, Yunnan, and even to Nepal and India, to research and gather materials for the project over the years.

Based on their work, the scriptwriter was able to weave together major plots from 73 of the most widely known versions of The Epic King Gesar to shape the backbones of the project.

Eventually, the massive Thangka painting process kicked off in 2002 and was sealed off in late 2007. It involved more than 120 veteran painters who were selected from a pool of over 1,000 candidates working under the guidance of Genqiu.

"To ensure high efficiency and precision for the final piece, we adopted a working mode similar to the assembly line in the manufacturing sector," says Zeren.

Painters and craftsmen were divided into groups. Each was responsible for one of the eight major painting stages, including the monochrome sketching, initial color rendering, tracing in gold dust, eye-depiction, polishing and mounting.

The Thangka painters adhered to traditional painting techniques, making use of natural or mineral colors, and even gold dust or ground powder of precious stones. The Karma Gadri painting style, the oldest and most complicated style of Thangka art, was used to highlight the most vivid details of scenes from The Epic of King Gesar, according to Zeren.

The exhibit is further unique because King Gesar is the main focus in each of the serial Thangka paintings, unlike traditional works that usually portray the Buddha or other Buddhist gods and goddesses as the centerpiece, says Yang Guangyou, general manager of Ling State King Gesar Culture Co Ltd.

The exhibition will make its global debut on a world tour following the Olympics.