Migmar Losang's workshop is viewed by local craftsmen as one of the best in the village because of its good pay and accommodation.
Tenzin Kelzang, who is in his seventh-year of apprenticeship under Migmar Losang, admits that he is "not skilled, so I don't get a high salary."
"But I enjoy my job here. I want to inherit this unique craft," he says.
Thubten Tsering explains that "the most skilled worker earns 6,000 yuan ($965) a month and a new apprentice gets around 1,500 yuan".
"We help the youngsters save money, preventing them from wasting all their salary without handing it to their parents."
He says most orders come from U-Tsang in the central region of Tibet and Kham, which covers the eastern part of the autonomous region and western Sichuan province.
"No contracts are signed for orders as negotiations are done with lamas, who are considered supreme spiritual teachers by Tibetans, so trust plays the key role," Thubten Tsering says.
A recent commission was a 23-meter-high Buddha statue ordered by a lama from a monastery in Lhokha. The work took three years to complete.
Among the 11 bronze workshops in Palnag village, only two are run by locals. The rest moved to the area in the 1960s from Chamdo prefecture in eastern Tibet, an area famous for its bronzes.
Most artisans in Palnag - including Migmar Losang - were students of the old Chamdo masters.
Chimed Sengge, 85, also from Chamdo, is the master craftsman who taught all the bronze smiths in Daktse county.
He has been in the trade for about 60 years. He learned it from his father and became an independent craftsman at the age of 35. He has trained about 40 of the sculptors, with 16 becoming workshop owners.
"I began my apprenticeship at 13. I learned to make statues using bronze, silver and gold," Chimed Sengge says.
"In the old days, we used zinc welding and tools like scissors and hammers. Today people use oxygen welding, advanced tools and even computers - things that make the job easier, more efficient and innovative."
Chimed Sengge retired in 2003 when he was 75 years old. But he still owns his workshop.
He noted the latest efforts of local authorities in protecting the traditions of his craft.
In 2010, his workshop was included in the autonomous region's list of protected intangible cultural heritage.
"It's crucial that this asset can be passed down to the next generations," says Manlha Tsering, the son of Chimed Sengge.
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