Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

The Dalai Lama has visited a remote Tibetan monastery in northeast India at the start of a trip that has infuriated China, which claims the surrounding Himalayan region as its own.

Thousands of Buddhists gave the Tibetan spiritual leader a rousing welcome as he arrived at the Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh state.

The state is governed by India but claimed by China, which has criticised the visit as a provocation aimed at harming relations between the two countries.

At the start of his decades in exile, from 1959, the Dalai Lama took refuge in the 400-year-old Tawang monastery, the second largest Tibetan monastery in India.

Preparations for his week-long tour of Arunachal have been underway for two months, with many buildings receiving a fresh coat of paint and regular prayers being held for his safe journey.

On Sunday, the Dalai Lama smiled and waved to devotees as he entered the monastery, where he was due to inaugurate a museum and a library and then address monks and priests.