DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — Thousands of Tibetan Buddhists began streaming in India’s Himalayan town of Dharamshala on Sunday to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama, who said days ago that he plans to reincarnate after dying.

Born on July 6, 1935, into a farming family in what is now Qinghai province, the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 with a large group of Tibetans after the Chinese military under the command of Communist Party founder Mao Zedong took over Tibet.

The Dalai Lama says he hopes to live until he is over 130 years old, a remark he made during a ceremony organized by his followers to offer prayers for his long life as he prepares to celebrate his 90