Tibetans living close to the Dalai Lama's birthplace in northwest China have heralded his meeting with Barack Obama with a midnight display of fireworks.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader remains widely revered in his homeland and residents said they were delighted that he will meet the US president in Washington today. Beijing has warned the event would hurt Sino-US ties.
"My heart is filled with joy," said a beaming monk, Johkang, as he stood near his monastery. "It is so important for us that this is happening, that the US has not given in to threats and will meet our leader," the lama told Reuters.
Chinese state media has condemned Obama's decision and other people learned about it through Tibetan-language radio broadcasts.
Tongren is an ethnically Tibetan area of Qinghai, the north-western province that neighbours the Tibetan autonomous region and where the Dalai Lama was born in 1935.
Tibetans set off fireworks at this time of year to mark their lunar new year, Losar. But many monks said they were also marking the events in Washington. "We do this whenever something big, and good happens," said Losan, standing on a hillside above a monastery as other lamas lit fireworks.
"He's really going to meet Obama?" interrupted a monk standing next to him. "I heard it on Voice Of America," Losan told him.
Monks burnt an offering of flour and a ceremonial Tibetan scarf as others blew into conch shells, the sound echoing around the valley.
A Tibetan woman, who declined to give her name, added: "I'm very excited about who the Dalai Lama is going to meet. But I worry about what measures the government could take against us in retaliation."
Some spoke proudly of the Dalai Lama's Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in 1989. "That the 1.3 billion Han Chinese have never had one of their number win a Nobel prize and that we have, with just six million people, says something powerful," said a monk called Tedan. "Now you understand why we love him so much."
Another lama, Tarkey said: "CCTV [Chinese state television] is always saying this and that about him and about us Tibetans," said monk Tarkey. "The world will get a better idea about who he is once he meets Obama."
The Chinese government accuses the "Dalai clique" of separatism and of stirring up 2008's anti-Chinese violence in Lhasa, which left at least 22 dead, including three rioters. But the Dalai Lama denies those accusations, saying he seeks meaningful autonomy through peaceful means.
The Tibetan government-in-exile also alleges that scores died in a government crackdown as unrest rippled across other Tibetan areas. It is impossible to verify the claims.