Quake zone monks wish to see Shanghai Expo

YUSHU: "I wanna go to Shanghai very much for the World Expo," said Khempo Sonam, a senior monk at Gyegu Monastery.

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The monastery, with more than 550 monks, is the largest monastery in Gyegu Town of the quake-hit Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China's southwest Qinghai Province. More than half of Yushu's residents are the monastery's followers.

Sonam, 26, joined the monastery when he was 16 and has become a young Khempo, or an instructor at the monastery's Buddhism Institute.

"I'd like to see the architecture of different countries, and learn about their customs," he said, "and I also would like to see the Qinghai Pavilion."

Sonam speaks fluent mandarin. He volunteered to interpret for Xinhua reporters when they were interviewing Tibetan people.

He said he had been following developments of the expo even since its preparation period.

"The monastery has seven or eight TV sets, all provided by the government after the quake, and we watched the opening ceremony on TV last night," Sonam told Xinhua.

Jigme Gyatso, director of the monastery's management committee, said he was too busy to watch the opening ceremony, but "(I) know the World Expo, the countdown, and everything."

"If (I) have time, I'd like to see the expo very much," he said.

"If you could bring us there, we'd be very happy," he said to the reporter with a laugh.

"Two orphans from Yushu was among the children from all over the world at the ceremony. It showed that the world cares about Yushu," Yondan Shiram, associate professor of Buddhism School of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture said.