Attractions: Potala Palace Jokhang Temple Namtso Lake
Potala Palace
Patala Palace was the religious and political center of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas. It is more than 117 meters high and 360 meters wide, occupying a space of 90,000 square meters.
In 641, upon marrying Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo decided to build a grand palace to accommodate her and to serve as a memorial to this important event. However, the original palace was destroyed by lightening and war damage during Landama's reign. In seventeenth century under the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Potala was rebuilt. The Thirteenth Dalai Lama extended it to its present size.
Potala comprises both the White Palace and the Red Palace . The former is a secular building while the latter is sacred. The White Palace contains offices, dormitories, a Buddhist seminary and a printing house, housing both the political headquarters and Dalai Lamas' living accommodation.
The Red Palace was constructed after the death of the Fifth Dalai Lama. The center of the complicated Red Palace is the Great West Hall, which records the Great Fifth Dalai Lama's life by its fine murals. The hall has four additional chapels. The West Chapel houses three gold stupas of the Fifth, Tenth and Twelfth Dalai Lama, in which their mummified and perfumed bodies are preserved. The North Chapel contains statues of Sakyamuni, Dalai Lamas and Medicine Buddha, and stupas of the Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Dalai Lamas. In the East Chapel a two meters (6.5 feet) high statue of Tsong Khapa, the founder of Gelugpa which is Dalai Lama's lineage, is enshrined and worshipped. The South Chapel is where a silver statue of Padmasambhava and 8 bronze statues of his reincarnations are enshrined. On the floor above, there is a gallery which has a collection of 698 murals, portraying Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dalai Lamas and great adepts and narrating jataka stories and significant Tibetan historical events.
Dharma Cave and the Saint's Chapel are the only structures left which were built in seventh century. They both lie central of the Red Palace . Dharma Cave is said to be the place where King Songtsen Gampo proceeded his religious cultivation. In the Saint's Chapel above Dharma Cave, Chenrezi, Tsong Khapa, Padmasambhava, the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Dalai Lamas are enshrined and worshipped.
Jokhang Temple
Jokhang Temple lies in the center of Lhasa . Built in 647 by Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign wives, it has a history of more than 1,300 years.
Everyday, pilgrims from every corner of Tibet trek a long distance to the temple. Some of them progress by prostrating themselves throughout their journey until they reach the threshold of the temple. Pilgrims kindle butter lamps with yak butter, or honor the deities with white scarves (Kha-btags or Khada) while murmuring sacred mantras to show their pieties to the Buddha.
The temple is the masterpiece of Han, Tibetan and Nepalese architectural techniques with various exotic and sacred sculptures. The most famous and valuable of these is the sculpture of Jowo Sakyamuni aged 12. It is one of the very few sculptures of its kind making it even more precious. The image is flanked on both sides by the altars of Songtsen Gampo and his two wives who introduced Buddhism into Tibet
Every year, the Great Prayer Festival is held in the Temple .
Namtso Lake
Namtso Lake is the highest saltwater lake in the world and the second largest saltwater lake in China. Meaning Heavenly Lake in Tibetan, Namtso is respected as one of the three holiest lakes and the seat of Paramasukha Chakrasamvara by Buddhist pilgrims. Thousands of pilgrims from every corner of Tibet and other places such as Qinghai , Sichuan and Yunnan , cluster to Namtso after long and hard treks. Buddhists believe Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Vajras will assemble to hold religious meeting at Namtso in the year of sheep on Tibetan calendar. Five islets, planting themselves in the vast sapphire blue lake, is said to be the incarnation of the Buddha of Five Directions. The lake is also a heaven for animals and plants, producing abundant fish and lodging many birds and beast.
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