More than 3,000 Buddhist monks from South Korea, Japan and China are gathering for a royal Buddhist service in Wutai Mountain, in north China's Shanxi Province.

It's reported that the Buddhist service is part of the Wutai Mountain international Buddhist culture festival which will last for a month.

Painting and calligraphy, rubbings from stone inscriptions, and photos related to Buddhism will be presented during the culture festival.

Wutai Mountain is one of the four major Buddhist mountains in China, and has been China's most sacred Buddhist site for hundreds of years.

It's China's only holy mountain where both Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Lamaism are practiced.

(CRI.com August 18, 2004)