April 2 was a beautiful day in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region. Under cloudless skies, Barkor Street was bustling with pilgrims circling Jokhang Temple in a clockwise manner, a usual part of daily religious practice. As the sun glinted off Jokhang's golden roof, hundreds of monks from some of the region's most important monasteries made their way to the temple to take part in this year's Tibetan Buddhism examinations.