For the past decade, the Chinese government has been dedicated to preserving traditional Tibetan culture. One example is "King Gesar," a heroic epic passed down orally from one generation to the next.

The government began its work on the legend of King Gesar in 1979.

86-year-old Samzhub is one of a handful of people who can sing the Tibetan oral epic "King Gesar."

"I hope there will be more written materials remain for other people about this epic after I pass away. I will be very delighted."

Samzhub, one of China's 150 surviving "King Gesar" ballad singers, has completed verbatim recordings of 45 episodes in the epic and 30 publications in the country's three-decade-long campaign to preserve the one million line, 1,000-year-old Tibetan art form.

The story of the King of Gesar is considered the only living oral epic in the world. Tibetan experts say all the oral history of the epic will be compiled into written documents in five years' time.