Butter sculptures

These are amazing scuptures made from yak butter. They are soft to the touch because they are butter and they smell like yak butter. Once a year they make these intricate scuptures for celebration and these are stored in a temple. They melt in summer and new ones need to be made every year. Every family is supposed to donate something for the upkeep of the temple, usually yak butter for the lamps in the temple, the scuptures and for consumption by the monks in their yak butter tea. Thinking back I forgot why we didn't try some yak butter tea. I guess because I didn't know what to expect. At the last minute I changed our plans from visiting a coastal city in China to going to the interior to visit a Tibetan monastery. I'm planning a return trip for next summer. I will try some yak butter tea then.