China - Tibetans in northwest China marked a tense traditional new year with prayer, the sounding of a gong and subdued defiance on Wednesday, in the wake of a string of self-immolations and protests against Chinese control.

The traditional new year, or "Losar," is a combination of Buddhist ceremony and family celebration observed across the Tibetan highlands of western China.

But this year, unrest has overshadowed the celebrations and there has even been a call from  an exiled Tibetan leader for people to shun festivities and instead pray for those who have suffered under Chinese rule.

At least 16 Tibetans are believed to have died after setting themselves on fire in protest since March, most of them Buddhist monks in Tibetan parts of Sichuan and Gansu provinces, next to what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region.

This year's Losar has brought no major flare-ups.

But the heavy security in many areas and widespread Tibetan resentment of the government's presence remain a volatile combination that could be kindled by sensitive anniversaries and warmer weather.

At the Kirti Monastery in Langmu, a town straddling Gansu and Sichuan, hundreds of red-robed Buddhist monks gathered to chant prayers while a large gong rang twice a minute.