 The Potala
is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region of the
People's Republic of China. It was named after Mount
Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. The
Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama
until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India
after an invasion and failed uprising in 1959. Today the
Potala Palace has been converted
into a museum by the Chinese.
The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350
metres north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3
m. thick, and 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base,
and with copper poured into the foundations to help
proof it against earthquakes. Thirteen stories of
buildings -- containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines
and about 200,000 statues -- soar 117 metres (384 ft) on
top of Marpo Ri, the "Red Hill", rising more than 300 m
(about 1,000 ft) in total above the valley floor.
Tradition has it that the three main hills of Lhasa
represent the
"Three Protectors of Tibet." Chokpori, just to the south
of the Potala, is the soul-mountain
(bla-ri) of Vajrapani, Pongwari that of Manjushri, and
Marpori, the hill on which the Potala stands, represents
Chenresig or Avalokiteshvara.
The Jokhang also called the Qokang, Jokang, Jokhang
Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Tsuklakang (gTsug lag khang)
, is the first Buddhist temple in Tibet, located on
Barkhor Square in Lhasa. It was built during the reign
of king Songsten Gampo (605?-650 CE) to celebrate his
marriage with Chinese Tang Dynasty princess Wencheng,
who was a Buddhist. The temple was called the Tsulag
Khang or 'House of Wisdom' but it is now known as the
Jokhang which means the 'House of the Lord'.
For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important
temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pansectarian, but
is presently controlled by the Gelug school.
Along with the Potala Palace, 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.
Norbulingka is a palace and surrounding park in Lhasa,
Tibet which served as the traditional summer residence
of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s up until
the PRC takeover in the late 1950s.
The park was built by the Seventh Dalai Lama beginning
in 1755, and became the summer residence during the
reign of the Eighth Dalai Lama.
The earliest building is the Gesang Pozhang Palace built
by Kelzang Gyatso. The 'New Palace' was begun in 1954 by
the present Dalai Lama and completed in 1956. It
contains chapels, gardens, fountains and pools. To the
west the Kalsang Potang built by Seventh Dalai Lama is
"a beautiful example of Yellow Hat architecture. Its
fully restored throne room is also of interest."
The gardens are a favourite picnic spot and provides a
beautiful venue for theatre, dancing and festivals,
particularly the Sho Dun or 'Yoghurt Festival', at the
beginning of August, with families camping in the
grounds for days surrounded by colourful makeshift
windbreaks of rugs and scarves and enjoying the height
of summer weather.
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 Site 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 small movie
theatre there in the 1950s. |
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