More than a thousand Tibetan monks gathered at the hilltops of quake-hit Yushu County in the western Qinghai Province and chanted prayers for more than two hours.

Many monks came on pickup trucks from other Tibetan regions. They estimate they have cremated more than 1,000 bodies on a grassy hillside outside Gyegu City, the county seat for Yushu.             

Monks believe about 10,000 people died from the quake, a significant jump from the official figure of around 1,500.             

[Bajing, Tibetan Monk]:
"We are praying for their spirits in the afterlife. We hope that they would be able to free themselves and go into the afterlife. I feel that there would be about 10,000 people dead because of this disaster."

Dozens of bodies packed in body bags were brought there by their relatives.

[Chemzan, Quake Survivor]:
“When people died, it is not the end of suffering for them. So when my wife died, I can only rely on these monks to pray for her spirits. So since there is such a good occasion like today, I came here to pray for her.”

Many Tibetan monks were devastated by the tragedy, which has killed the mostly Tibetan populace in the region.