He does not live at the Panchen Lama’s traditional seat, Tashi Lunpo monastery in Tibet’s Shigatse city, but in Beijing and visits Tibet for a few months each year to meet government officials and take part in religious ceremonies, according to Chinese state media.

The Dalai Lama has announced that he will have a successor after his death, continuing a centuries-old tradition that has become a flashpoint in the struggle with China’s Communist Party over Tibet’s future.