Tag: Princess WenCheng

Lhasa

Lhasa (ལྷ་ས་) has been considered the capital of the Tibetan peoples since as early as the 7th century. After conquering several surrounding kingdoms and two significant political marriages with Chinese and Nepali princesses, Songtsan Gampo became the first leader of a unified Tibetan Empire. He began construction on a palace which formed the foundation and determined the design of the current Potala Palace. In 641, he built the Jokhang Temple to house a treasured gold statue of Siddartha Guattama dating back to the Buddha’s lifetime.
Pilgrims visit Lhasa from all corners of Tibet to worship at the Jokhang Temple

Modern day Lhasa is interesting in and of itself. Though there is a larger Chinese population in the city than Tibetans these days, they have predominatly settled on the Western side of the city. The Central and Eastern parts of town are where you will find the majority of the Tibetan population and all of the significant cultural sights.

When traveling to Lhasa, there are a few things to remember. Due to it’s location within the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), you will need both a Tibet Travel Permit (TTP) and a Chinese Visa to enter Lhasa as a foreign traveler. Once you arrive, especially if you have come by air, it is important to remember that with such a dramatic change in elevation every traveler will experience at least minor discomfort. This includes minor headaches, disturbed sleep, lack of appetite, and sometimes minor dizziness, so take things easy for the first couple of days. The body naturally adjusts within two to three days, although some find themselves fine after the first day, but watch yourself and your traveling companions for elevation related symptoms. While the vast majority of people will be fine after two or three days, in serious cases medical evacuation may be neccessary, so don’t take this too lightly.

Drepung monastery sits on the north side of town with a beautiful view of the Lhasa valley

Lhasa (or Lasa (拉萨) in Mandarin) is home to many cultural relics, including three UNESCO world heritage sites – the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Norbulingka (and Summer Palace). The three most popular Gelugpa sect monasteries can all be accessed from Lhasa: Drepung and Sera monasteries sit just outside of the city; Ganden monastery is just over an hour away, so many make a day trip out of it. Sera Monastery is famous for their live debates starting at 3pm Monday to Friday (sometimes Saturday), and many visitors are drawn like a bug to the flame to watch these lively conversations. Barkhor Plaza and Old Town surrounds Jokhang Temple with bustling foot traffic. Souvenir shops, jewelry and clothing stores, and restaurants abound, which makes walking the stone paved alleys around Barkhor Plaza and Old Town a cultural experience in and of itself.

A variety of cuisine can be found in Lhasa, and often all within the same menu. You can enjoy a decent burger and fries while, your companion can choose anything from Nepali set meals to Indian curries or Tibetan momos. The majority of chefs at Lhasa’s best restaurants are Nepali.

Your guide can help you book tickets to visit the Potala Palace, which is a must see. The maze of candle lit rooms on the inside is fascinating, and the park on the backside of the palace is refreshingly beautiful. Take an evening after dinner to stroll in the square, and snap some night photography of the Potala Palace.

The beauty of the Potala Palace rises over Lhasa and is visible from anywhere in the Lhasa valley

Though the ticket price is high (seats start at approximately $60 USD), the live outdoor theater performance of Princess Wencheng is impossible to describe with words or capture with a camera. It has a cast of 800 members, along with live yaks, sheep, and horses all featured on the 150m wide stage. With the mountains south of Lhasa as the backdrop, the show begins at dark, and lasts for an hour and a half.

While visiting Lhasa, many travellers make their way outside of the city to Yamdrok Lake. Yamdrok is a freshwater lake over 72kms long, and it is one of the biggest sacred lakes in Tibet. Being located only 100km south of the city makes it a popular day trip.

For travelers who are interested, the New Year (Losar), Saga Dawa, and Chökor Düchen festivals are three of the biggest yearly festivals celebrated in Lhasa. Particularly the New Year and Saga Dawa festivals see the city splashed with colour, with thousands of pilgrims coming to the holy city from all corners of Tibet.

June 20, 2016
Yulshul (Yushu)

Mostly inhabited by Tibetans, Yushu (ཡུལ་ཤུལ།) is located in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the southern Qinghai province of China. The town, also referred to as Jyekundo (སྐྱེ་དགུ་མདོ།), Gyêgu, Gyêgudo or Jiegu is a multi-ethnic town with Tibetan nomadic residents and Han Chinese traders. Yushu lies at an elevation of 4,000 meters and has the fountainheads of Asia’s three great rivers – the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, and the Mekong River. The rivers are part of the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve in the region. Besides the Tongtian River Bridge, a stone column inscribed with the reserve’s name was given by the former president, Jiang Zemin.
Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery

The Jyekundo Monastery is found on a hill overlooking Yushu Town and belongs to the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In the past, a Bon Temple was present on the site, but later in 1398, Jyekundo Temple was constructed in its place. It consisted of 16 temples and was home to around 500 monks before the earthquake of 2010 hit the area.

Gyanak Mani Temple

About 6 kilometers east of Jyekundo Town is the Gyanak (Jiana) Mani Stone Field which has an enormous collection of carved prayer stones depicting Buddha sculptures ad mantras. There are over 2 million prayer stones stacked on top of each other spread across a square kilometer and reaching a height of 3 meters. Pilgrims from across the region pay a visit to the temple and make koras of the stone pile.

Temple of Princess Wencheng

Located 20 kilometers south outside of Yushu Town, the temple honors Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty when she was on her way to Lhasa in the 7^th century. Every Tibetan New Year, devotees visit the temple and perform a kora. The area surrounding the temple consists of thousands of prayer flags and offers picturesque views of the grasslands below and snowy mountains far away.

Row of stupas in Yushu

Qinghai Yushu Horse Racing Festival

Every year on 25th July, a Horse Racing Festival is held in the grasslands of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the Qinghai Province for sturdy Khampas to display their sportsmanship. The Yushu Horse Racing Festival is attended by Tibetan nomads across the Kham region, who set up tents for the week-long festivities. The warm weather transforms the valley into lush green spaces ideal for camping and horse racing. Apart from the traditional horse races, there is also folk singing and dancing, Buddhist ceremonies and various other sports and activities as part of the festival. Tibetan herbs and handicrafts are also widely sold during the event. Women dress in their best traditional gowns and ornaments, while monks are seen clad in red robes. The tribal men wear robes with tiger stripes or panther skins.

May 27, 2016
Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (བོད་བརྒྱུད་ནང་བསྟན། ) is the major religion of Tibetans around the world. It covers the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism along with Tantric and Shamanic rituals, and is in some part influenced by Bon, the ancient, indigenous religion of Tibet. Apart from the traditions of koras, prayer flags, mantras, and sutras, Tibetan Buddhism is also known for the presence of several deities and reincarnation of Lamas.
History of Tibetan Buddhism

The Bon were exposed to Buddhism in the 7^th century when King Songtsen Gampo married two Buddhist women, Princess Wencheng from China, and Princess Bhrikuti Devi from Nepal. He tried to enforce Buddhism in the region, but faced a lot of opposition from the followers of the native Bon religion. Towards the end of the 8^th century, King Trisong Detsen invited two Buddhist masters from India to Tibet, the mystic Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita.

Master Shantarakshita built the first monastery in Tibet, while master Padmasambhava used his power to dispel the evil forces preventing the spread of Buddhism. Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) combined the teachings of tantric Buddhism with the local Bon religion and founded Tibetan Buddhism. He translated numerous Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan. This lead to the establishment of the first school of Tibetan Buddhism – Nyingma.

One of the Tibetan Buddhism Temples teaches the religion created a thousand years ago.

Four Sects of Tibetan Buddhism

1.     Nyingmapa Sect

The Nyingmapa Sect also known as the Red Hat sect is the oldest and first school of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded by Padmasambhava towards the end of the 8^th century, the Nyingma School emphasizes tantric practices, local theologies used from the local Bon religion, teachings attributed to Padmasambhava and Dzogchen (Great Perfection) doctrines. It was widely practiced in the region until the 11^th century when other schools of thought arose.

2.     Kagyupa Sect

The Kagyupa Sect is the third largest school in Tibetan Buddhism and is known as the White Hats sect. in the 11^th century, a Tibetan named Marpa went to India to learn Buddhism under Master Yogin Naropa. He then spread his teachings to his student, Milarepa after putting him under harsh trial. In 12^th century, Milarepa’s student Gampopa fouded the Kagyu Sect. This school stresses on the communication of knowledge from teacher to the student, and hence, is also referred as Oral Transmission School. Kagyupa’s central teachings revolve around Mahamudra system of meditation and Six Doctrines of Naropa, also known as Naro Chödrug.

3.     Sakyapa Sect

The smallest among the four total schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Sakyapa Sect was founded by Sakya Kunga Nyingpo with its main monastery, Sagya Monastery in southern Tibet. The central teachings of the Sakyapa School are based on Lamdrey (the Path and its Fruit), systematic tantrism and Buddhist logic. It creates a balance between study and meditation.

4.     Gelugpa Sect

The Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) Sect is the newest, largest and most important school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Gelugpa (Gelug) sect was founded by Tsongkhapa, a reformist monk and great Tibetan scholar. It is headed by the Dalai Lama. Its practices revolve around Lamrim, from the teachings of Atisha, which focuses on the journey to enlightenment as taught by Buddha.

May 27, 2016
Sungchu (Songpan )

Located in the North of Sichuan Province, with a population over 68,000, is Sungchu (ཟུང་ཆུ). Until recently it was an agriculturally dominated community, but with an influx of foreign students and travelers to and from Huanglong, Sungchu, known in Chinese Songpan County (松潘), has added tourism to being one of its top sectors.
Songpan’s Strategic Location

Built during the Tang Dynasty and expanded during the Ming Dynasty, for many years this was an important military location. When it was established, it sat at the border of the Chinese and Tibetan empires, and at many points in history the Tibetans staged invasions into China from its strategic location.

View of the city from atop of a hill

Deep History

In 641, in order to broker a truce between the two empires, Emperor Tang offered Princess WenCheng to the Tibetan King in Songpan. There are several statues of Princess WenCheng in town which symbolize this time of peace and it is not uncommon to find many tourist admiring and taking photos. Plenty of historic sites exist as well, with much of the city’s walls still standing, including its gates.

Exploring Adventurously

The surrounding areas have much to offer – enormous valleys, rolling hills, and seemingly endless forests and guides can be found all around Songpan and its neighboring areas. Mountain bike tours of the area can take most of the day and offer access to areas too far for a hike or backpacking trip, but the options are still there. Many tourists spend more than a day or two out in the mountains, hiking and camping along the way to smaller villages filled with livestock and farming.

City street not similar to the noisy streets of major cities in Mainland China.

For the Brave

Hiking and mountain biking can get you far, but there is no better way to experience all Songpan’s beautiful landscape has to offer than with a horseback tour. Day trips and overnight treks are common and some agencies in the area offer an even more, in depth trek lasting anywhere from four to seven days with a combination of camping and sleeping in villages.

Shopping for Tourists

Shopping in a more tourist-oriented town can sometimes be tricky, as furs and hides can be fake or even worse, poached from endangered animals. The best choices for souvenirs here are the silver jewelry and hand-crafted clothing. You can often find a silversmith working on a new piece near the southern end of the main strip where some of the silver shops are located. This southern area also tends to have better prices as it is farther from the high foot traffic areas near the center.

Some delicious Songpan tea to enjoy and relax after an exciting day in the city

Western styled foods and shops often come within territory of tourist based towns, and Songpan is no exception. For pizza, coffee and Wi-Fi, Emma’s Kitchen is the place to be, right off the main road. However, there are still many restaurants with traditional Chinese and Tibetan food and drink, including butter tea. This drink of butter, milk, egg, sesame, walnut, and red tea has a long standing history in Songpan and many Tibetans keep a pot on the stove, ready to serve at a moment’s notice.

May 25, 2016