On 9 August, Consul General Tan Xiutian was invited to attend the annual tea party and open day of the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre. Tan warmly congratulated Lama Yeshe on Kagyu Samye Ling's flourishing and prosperous development. Tan said, every time I come to the Centre, I feel strongly its vigour and vitality. I just came back from an inspection tour of Tibet at the end of July, and witnessed the significant social, economic and cultural achievement of Tibet after 50 years of democratic reform. People of all ethnic groups live and work in harmony. They love each other and help one another. Tibetan culture has increasingly become thriving. I hope and believe Lama Yeshe and Akong Tulku Rinpoche will continue to care about and make more contributions to the development of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Lama Yeshe thanked Tan for her coming all the way to the celebration and expressed their wishes to do more charity work in Tibet and its neighbouring provinces. Akong Tulku Rinpoche is currently inspecting some of their charity projects in China.

The celebration was prevailed with an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. More than 700 guests from about 20 countries took an active part in the celebration and enjoyed the wonderful performances like lion dance, traditional Tibetan singing and dancing, and lowland bagpipe music.

Located in a peaceful valley on the banks of the river Esk in Scotland, Kagyu Samye Ling was the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre to have been established in the West. Founded in 1967 and currently under the guidance of Abbot Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Samye Ling is part of Rokpa Trust, a registered Charity which has three main areas of activity: spiritual, humanitarian aid, and Tibetan medicine and therapy.