Lhasa

The Potala Palace

The Potala Palace was built 1,300 years ago in Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) when the Tibetan King Songtsam  Gambo married the Tang Princess Wencheng.  Potala is the name of the place, which means residence of the Goddess of Mercy in Tibetan language.

The palace is a 13-storey stone-wood complex situated at the top of the Red Hill of Lhasa, Tibet.

It has been worshiped by lamas and Tibetan Buddhists as sacred land for many years, and it is also Tibet's political and religious administration center.

Known as a historical and cultural museum of Tibetan Buddhism, the Potala Palace houses many artifacts of ancient Tibet, such as frescos, stupas and images of Buddha. People feel amazing about the colorful sculptures and paintings there.

In December 1994, the Potala Palace of Lhasa was put on the UNESCO's list of World Cultural Heritage. It is a symbol of the wisdom and power of the Tibetan people.

Potala Palace, situated on the Hongshan Hill in Lhasa, means "the Sacred Palace of Buddhism" in Sanskrit. It was built in the 7th century by king Songtsan Gambo for his bride, the princess Wen Cheng of Han nationality, and was enlarged and renovated by the successive Da1ais. The 13 story palace, 117 meters high, 360 meters east-west, with an area of 130,000 square meters was constructed completely by stone and wood.  It includes temple, seminary, chanting hal1, dormitory, mourning hall and yard. The eight mourning halls house the statues of several Dalai Lamas,  which are covered with gold 1eaf and studded with jewels. Enormous precious historical relics and frescos on various themes are kept in the building. Potala Pa1ace was the winter residence of Dalai Lamas. The impose grand building was constructed on the slope of the hill, which demonstrates a combined style of Tibetan and Han architecture.

Jokhang Temple

Jokhang Temple, built in 647A.D and located in the centre of old town Lhasa, it is one of the earliest constructions in Tibet ,its roof is covered gold, making much of a sight. Through several renovations it expanded into quite a large group of buildings and now covers an area of over 25,000 sq meters. A large number of precious. Walls along lobbies and inner temples are covered with legendary frescoes. The are Tang willow and the llnite  Stele of Tand and tibet in the front.

It is the spiritual center of Lhasa and stands in the heart of theold city.The medieval push and shove of crowds, the street performers,the stalls hawking everything from prayer flags to jewel-encrusted yakskulls, and the devout tapping their foreheads to the ground at everystep is an exotic brew that few newcomers can resist.

Jokhang has 4 stories and its roofs are covered with gilded bronzetiles. It was built in the style of Tang dynasty structures and adoptedthe characteristics of Nepalese and Indian architecture.

There are numerous elaborately decorated shrines and rooms atJokhang. There are also statues of King Songtsan Gambo together withhis Chinese bride Princess Wen Cheng and Nepalese bride Princess Chizunin the side halls. In the center of the main hall, a gold statue of theyoung Buddha Sakyamuni, brought to Tibet by Princess Wen Cheng fromChang'an (present Xian) is enshrined.

Tashilunpo Monastry

Residence of the Panchen Lamas , it is situated in Xigaze, a major cityin the former Zang area. First built in 1447.It covers an area of about300,000 square meters with a floor space of about 30,000 squaremeters.Painted in red and white, the buildings in the monastery standclosely together in terraced rows,offering a grand and majestic view.

There are many valuable and rare historical articles in themonastery,among them are found a lot of gold and jade signets, andimperial certificates bestowed by Emperors of the Min and DingDynasties as well as a seal of "Daitu" of the Yuan Dynasty scribed inthe new Mongolian language reformed by Basba.They are of great valuefor the study of history.

Tashilhunpo Monastery has long been Panchen Lama's seat. It'sShigatse's foremost attraction. This gorgeous monastery can be detectedmiles away with its gold tops reflecting the sunshine. Tashilhunpoholds the giant Future Buddha statue- biggest Buddha statue in theworld. The statue is 26.2m high, 11.5m shoulder width, with numerousjewelry inlaid in the body, unbelievably imposing.

Norbulingka

Located at the west suburb of Lhasa, it was constructed during1740s,and is 36hectres in area.The standing minister of Tibet by QingGovermnent ordered the first palace to be built for the recreation ofthe 7 th Dalai Lama;later,the 8 th ,13 th ,14 th ,Dalai Lamas alsobuilt their own palaces here ,After 200 years extension andmanagement,it has become one of typical Tibetan Palaces and gardens.TheDadenmingjiu Palace,which means the new palace,built by the 14 th DalaiLama ,is the grandes ,with temples,palaces and villas composedtogether.Dalai Lamas,from the 7 th down ,all spent summers here,whiledoing business.Now,people get to norbulingka with tents and foods onholidays ,dancing and singing through day and night .

Among Tibet's other attractions are Shigatse, around 250km (155mi)south-west of Lhasa and the seat of the Panchen Lama (the reincarnationof whom the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government are currentlydisputing), and Mt Kailash, set in a beautiful range of peaks.

Tibet's Gandan Temple

Gandan temple, one of the three major temples in Lhasa, capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, celebrated its traditional festival of Zhanfo, which means "Buddha in sunshine" with thousands of native Tibetans and foreign guests and tourists in attendance.

Some 20,000 religious people and local residents as well as tourists from all over the world gathered around the temple to watch and participate in the festival celebrations.

The religious ceremony began at about noon, accompanied by scripture-reading. On a nearby hill was hung a huge cloth printed with a portrait of Buddha for worshipers to pray to.

The Gandan Temple was built in the 1409. In 1993, China's central government invested some 3.2 million US dollars to rebuild it.

Baiju Temple

Baiju Temple is located at the northeast corner of Jiangzi County, and the distance from south Lhasa is approximately 230 kilometers while the distance from east Rikeze is approximately more than 100 kilometers. Baiju Temple is a Chinese name. In Tibetan abbreviation, "Bang Kuo De Qing", means "the propitious wheel great happy temple". Baiju Temple was constructed during the Ming Xuanzong, Xuande second year (1,427) and the construction took 10 years to complete. It was said the construction was built and completed together by Kezhujie and Redanyansanpa, the two leaders of Tibet in 1418.

Baiju Temple is seen as an equal among the Tibet various religious sects in the evenly matched situation establishes. Therefore it gathers Sajia, Gelu, Budun and other schools of peace to co-exist in the temple. Each religious sect has 56 halls "to grip the warehouse" in this temple. Thus, it has special status and influence in the Tibetan Buddhism history. Currently, this temple possessed 16 'grip the warehouse'  The main temple has three, and various styles of "the Tang cards" were hung in the palace and also an approximate 8 meters high copper Sitting Buddha. According to historical data record, 14 tons of brasses were consumed to cast this Buddha image. In the second level of the main hall of east wing palace, there are more than 20 pieces of Ming Dynasty valuable art collection of Manjusri Bodhisattva and clay Arhats.

Sera Monaster

The Sera Monastery at the foot of Tatipu Hill is located in the northern suburb of Lhasa City. It is one of three famous monasteries in Lhasa along with the Drepung Monastery and the Ganden Monastery. The Sera Monastery is dedicated to the Gelugpa or Yellow Hat Sect, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Tsong Khapa. Jamchen Chojey, one of Tsong Khapa's disciples built the monastery in 1419 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The monastery was named Sera which means wild rose in the Tibetan language, because the hill behind it was covered with wild roses in bloom when the monastery was built.
The monastery is magnificent and covers an area of 114,946 square meters (28 acres). Its main buildings are the Coqen Hall, Zhacang (college) and Kamcun (dormitory). Scriptures written in gold powder, fine statues, scent cloth and unparalleled murals can be found in these halls. Colorful debates on Buddhist doctrines are held here and these employ a style distinctive from those at Lhasa's other famous monasteries.

Drepung Monastery

Situated at the foot of the Mountain Gambo Utse, 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the western suburb of Lhasa, the Drepung Monastery is known as the most important monastery of Gelugpa in Tibetan Buddhism. The monestary was established in 1416 by Tsong Khapa's disciple Jamyang Qoigyi, who was versed in both Esoteric and Exotoric Buddhism and became the first Kampo there It is considered one of the 'Three Great Monasteries' (the other two are the Ganden Monastery and the Sera Monastery. Covering an area of 250,000 square meters (299,007 square yards), it held 7,700 monks in total and possessed 141 fazendas and 540 pastures in its heyday, and is the largest-scale monastery among the ones of the same kind. Seen from afar, its grand, white construction gives the monastery the appearance of a heap of rice. As such, it was given the name 'Drepung Monastery' which, in the Tibetan language, means Monastery of Collecting-Rice.

The Drepung Monastery houses many cultural relics, which adorn the monastery and make it more superb. Statues of Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Sitatapatra found on the first storey of the Coqen Hall, rare sutras on the second storey and Jamyang Qoigyi's conch shell given by Tsong Khapa on the third one, all add to the wonderment of the monastery. Exquisite statues of Tsong Khapa, Kwan-yin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Amitayus, and Jamyang Qoigyi in other sutra halls, as well as flowery murals on walls also fully present the wisdom of the Tibetan people.

Namtso

Namtso   is a mountain lake at the border between Damxung County of Lhasa Prefecture and Baingoin County of Nagqu Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, approximately 112 km [70 miles] NNW of Lhasa.

The lake lies at an elevation of 4,718 m, and has a surface area of 1,870 square kilometres[1]. It is the highest salt lake in the world, and largest salt lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region. However, it is not the largest salt lake in geographical historical Tibet. That title used to belong to Qinghai Lake (almost twice the size of Namtso); but since borders were re-drawn in 1965 that lake now lies just over 1,000 km [650 miles] to the north-east in China's Qinghai province.
Namtso is renowned as one of the most beautiful places in the Nyainqentanglha mountain range. Its cave hermitages have for centuries been the destination of Tibetan pilgrims. A surfaced road across Largen La at 5186 m was completed to the lake in 2005, enabling easy access from Lhasa and the development of tourism at the lake.

The Sangye Temple

The Samye Buddhist Center was established by Sangpo Rinpoche to provide a better understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, and to make Dharma teachings internationally available for students and practitioners. The purpose of the Center is to provide a place for Buddhist practice to purify the mind, and most importantly to preserve and spread the teachings of the Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings. Please feel free to read about Rinpoche, his teachings and his school project.

The Sangye Temple, prominent in the development of the Tibetan Buddhism, not only plays its role in promoting Tibetan culture and training the early Tibetan religious personnel but also has its position in the history of Sino Indian cultural exchange. The Tibet Route was an important channel of the economic and cultural exchange between Inland China and India.

Zangwang Tomb

The Tombs of the Tibetan Kings is from the 29th generation to the 40th generation during the Turfan Dynasty. It consists of the ministers and princess's tombs and the most famous being the Songzanganbu's Tomb.

The Tombs of the Tibetan Kings is from A.D. 7 to 9 centuries and each generation of Turfan approves Pu's mausoleum group. It is Tibet's largest scale tombs preservation. The entire tomb group area is approximately 10,000 square meters.

There are two stele of Turfan time in front of the Tombs of the Tibetan Kings. It was said the red German pine approved (year 798 to 815 years with the Songzanganbu's tomb neighbor to reign) the tomb. The red German pine in this tomb stood erected on the east slope with the tombstone at the same place. Another stele stood not far from the Tombs of the Tibetan Kings near the bridge head.

It was testified by research that the tombstone was approved during the 754 to 797 years for Japanese red pine Germany to reign. The Japanese red pine Germany approved the fifth generation of the Turfan dynasty and approved of Pu, his ability and wisdoms inferior only to Songzanganbu.

The Tombs of the Tibetan Kings has reflected the Tibetan's funeral system and the grave level more than 1,000 years ago.

The Himalayas

The colossal Himalayan Mountains form a border between the Indian subcontinent and the rest of Asia. The Himalayas are the world’s tallest mountains, towering more than five miles above sea level. Himalaya means “home of snow” because the tallest peaks of the Himalayas are always capped with snow.

The Himalayas include Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Everest rises 29,028 feet above sea level on the border between India and Nepal. No plant life grows near the mountain’s peak due to powerful winds, extremely cold temperatures, and a lack of oxygen. Many adventurous people attempt to climb Everest every year. Often their venture ends in sickness or death. Most people are unable to breathe 20,000 feet above sea level because there is not enough oxygen in the atmosphere. A person will suffer brain damage when they are unable to breathe. Strong winds and frigid temperatures make the climate even more rigorous. Clearly the peak of Mount Everest is a place for only the heartiest of people.