:: Potala Palace
The Potala Palace, located in Lhasa, Tibet, China, was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India after a failed uprising in 1959. Today the Potala Palace is a state museum of China. It is now a popular tourist attraction and an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 The site was used as a meditation retreat by Emperor Songtsen Gampo, who in 637 built a first palace there, which was incorporated into the later buildings. The construction of the present palace began in 1645 under the fifth Dalai Lama Lozang Gyatso. In 1648, the Potrang Karpo (White Palace) was completed, and the Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time. The Potrang Marpo (Red Palace) was added between 1690 and 1694. The name Potala probably derives from Mt Potala, the mythological abode of Bodhisattva Chenrezig (Avilokiteshvara / Kuan Yin). Built at an altitude of 3,700 m, on the side of Marpo Ri hill, the Red Mountain in the center of Lhasa Valley, Potala Palace, with its vast inward-sloping walls broken only in the upper parts by straight rows of many windows, and its flat roofs at various levels, is not unlike a fortress in appearance. At the south base of the rock is a large space enclosed by walls and gates, with great porticos on the inner side. A series of tolerably easy staircases, broken by intervals of gentle ascent, leads to the summit of the rock.
The whole width of this is occupied by the palace. The central part of this group of buildings rises in a vast quadrangular mass above its satellites to a great height, terminating in gilt canopies similar to those on the Jokhang. This central member of Potala is called the "red palace" from its crimson colour, which distinguishes it from the rest. It contains the principal halls and chapels and shrines of past Dalai Lamas. There is in these much rich decorative painting, with jewelled work, carving and other ornament. The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. In 2000 and 2001, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka were added to the list as extensions to the sites.
:: Norbu Lingka
Norbulingka (Wylie: Nor-bu-gling-ka) is a palace and surrounding park in Lhasa, Tibet which served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780's up until the PRC takeover in the late 1950s. The park was built by the Seventh Dalai Lama in the 1750s, and became the summer residence during the reign of the Eighth Dalai Lama.
 The palace is located three kilometers west of the Potala Palace which was the winter palace. Additional buildings were added to the park during the first half of the 20th century. In 2001, UNESCO inscribed Norbulingka on its World Heritage List as part of the "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace". There is also a zoo at Norbulingka, originally to keep the animals which were given to the Dalai Lama. Heinrich Harrer helped the 14th Dalai Lama build a movie theatre there in the 1950s.
:: Jokhang Monastery
The Jokhang, also called the Jokhang Temple or the Jokhang Monastery, is a famous Buddhist temple in Lhasa, Tibet. It is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace" and a spiritual centre of Lhasa. [Jokhang Monastery or Temple, built on the year 647]
Jokhang temple was constructed by King Songtsen Gampo in the year 647. This temple has remained a centre of Buddhist pilgrimage for centuries, and over a period of last several centuries, the temple complex continue to be expanded and now covers an area of around 25,000 sq. meters. Jokhang temple is a four-storey construction, with roofs covered with gilded bronze tiles. The architectural style is a blend of Indian, Nepalese, and Tang dynasty styles. The rooftop statues of two golden deer flanking a Dharma wheel is iconic.
Jokhang temple complex has several decorated shrines and rooms. The main hall of the temple houses the Jowo Shakyamuni Buddha statue, perhaps the single most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. There are also statues of King Songtsan Gambo and his two famous foreign brides, Princess Wen Cheng (daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang China) and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal.
:: Tashilhunpo Monastery
Tashilhunpo Monastery, built in 1447, is a historic and culturally important monestary in Shigatse, Tibet. Located on a hill in the center of the city, the full name in Tibetan of the monastery means "all fortune and happiness gathered here".
 The monastery is the traditional seat of successive Panchen Lamas, the second highest ranking tulku lineage in the Gelukpa Buddhism. [Tashi Lhunpo Monastery]
This monastery was originally built by Gedun Drub the First Dalai Lama, financed by donations from local nobles. Later Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen, the Fourth Panchen Lama and the first Panchen Lama to be recognized as such by the rulers of Mongolia, made major expansions to the monastery. Since then all Panchen Lamas have resided at Tashilhunpo, and have managed to expand it gradually. Erdini Qoigyijabu, the 11th Panchen Lama according to the government of the People's Republic of China, lives there today, while Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama recognised by the Dalai Lama, has been held under "protective custody" by the Chinese authorities since 1995.
In 1972, another Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was built in the Tibetan Settlement of Bylakuppe, Karnattaka state, in South India. Authorities from this monastery were part of the search commitee for the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. |
