Tibet is famous of its religious culture. The unique Tibetan temples are very attractive to the travellers from all over the world. They are the critical components of the Tibetan culture and it will be a pity to miss these specail temples if you are already here in Tibet.
1. The notable Potala Palace is in Lhasa,Tibet. It occupies the whole Mount Potala and is the biggest Buddhism temple in Tibet. It is a world-renowned architectural group of palace-fortress style and embodies the essence of Tibetan ancient architectural arts and wisdom of the Tibetan people. It was the religious and political center of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas. The Potala Palace, with a history of about 1400 years, was first built in the 7th century under the Tubo chieftain Songtsan Gambo. In the early Tang Dynasty (618-907), Songtsan Gambo took Princess Wencheng, a daughter of the Tang royal family, as his wife. In order that posterity could remember this great event, he had a nine-storey building with a thousand rooms constructed on Red Hill, which is at an altitude of 3,700-odd meters, as the residence for the princess and named it Potala Palace. According to the rule of sunlight refraction on the tableland, the design and construction of the Potala Palace adopted wide and solid wall foundations, with cuniculuses and intakes dug out of the foundation and extending in all directions. Inside the rooms there are pillars, wooden square blocks, girders, traditional beams, etc., to form the supporting framework. All halls and rooms have clerestories for daylight and fresh air. On the walls of the Palace are murals, totaling 2,500 square meters. The Potala Palace is not only the symbol of the Tibetan ethic minority, but also the symbole of the solidification of the Chinese people. It is also a gem of Tibetan architectural art that offers mankind a plateau snow land’s cultural heritage without parallel in the world. The palace was listed as a major national cultural relic to be reserved in 1961, and was listed among the World Heritage List by the UNESCO in December 1994. Another famous temple in Lhasa is Sela temple and it is a good choice for your Lhasa travel too.
2. Sangyuan Temple was established in the 8th century. It is the first Tibetan temple to have Fo, Fa and Seng all in one place. Because of this, it has great history value. It is also a gem of Tibetan architectural art(very unique architectural style and established according to the World Components Design of the Buddhism Theories).
3. Gandan Temple is called “the No. 1 temple of the Lamaism”. It is also the first Lamaism(Based on the Zonggebaism) temple in Tibet and is the symbol of the establishment of Lamaism in Tibet.
4. Zhebang Temple is the biggest temple of Geluism in Tibet. It is more like a small town and an education center for Geluism. Thousands of Tibetan people learn the Geluism theories in this place.
5. Zhashilunbu Temple is located in Rigeze, Tibet. It is another famous Lamaism temple and is the residence of the Banchan(like the prime minister of Tibet).
6. Other notable Tibetan temples are: Shaga temple, Tuolin temple, Xialu temple, Baiju temple, Cangzhu temple, Pabangka, Lhasa Qingzhen temple, Sangding temple, etc. (They are also very good options for your Tibet travel and Lhasa travel.)
Some tips:
For the travellers in Tibet, you can have all kinds of other choices besides the visiting of Tibetan temples.For example: mountaineering travel, river adventure travel, skee, bike travel, horse riding travel, boating travel, hunting, fishing, etc. There are also some interesting Tibetan culture holidays for the travellers in Tibet: Lhasa Xuedun holiday, Qiangtang horse racing holiday, Shannanyalong holiday, etc.
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