Prayer Flags under Winter Stars

From the photographer: “This photo was taken at Mount Jizu, located in Dali City, Yunnan Province of China. It’s a famous holy mountain in Buddhism. Under the winter stars, prayer flags hang along the mountain path. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Traditionally, prayer flags come in sets of five: one in each of five colors. The five colors are arranged from left to right in a specific order: blue, white, red, green, and yellow. The five colors represent the elements. Blue symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes the Earth.”