A ceremony was held to celebrate Tibetan opera's inclusion on the World Heritage list of UNESCO Saturday, the fifth Chinese Cultural Heritage Day.

Tibetan opera, praised as "the living fossil of traditional Tibetan cultures," boasts a history of more than 600 years, about 400 years longer than Peking opera, a national treasure in China.

It was put on the world heritage list of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2009.