helen_5

=**Shigatse-20/5/07**=

Getting to the end of my 24 day tour of Tibet now, and today i visited Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. Since i was only here for the day I chose to see the Tashihunpo monastery.Tashilhunpo Monastery is one of the Six Big Monasteries of Gelugpa (or Yellow Hat Sect) in Tibet. From standing on the entrance of Tashilhunpo,i could see the grand buildings with golden roofs and white walls. Besides the grand palace and gigantic statues, the Tashilhunpo Monastery also treasures characteristic wall paintings. Because of the variety of shapes, resplendent colors and exquisite painting, the murals are considered to be another masterpiece of Buddhist art. Rare sutras, thangka, china and glass services of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911) are also invaluable assets found in the monastery. These are good relics for researching the history and society of Tibet. It was an exhasuting day, with so much walking around. But it was all worth it, for the exquisite culture i have received whilst on this holiday.





Here is some brief information i gathered from today.

Also called the Heap of Glory, the monastery is located at the foot of Drolmari (Tara's Mountain), Shigatse. Founded by the First Dailai Lama in 1447, the monastery's structure was expanded by the Fourth and successive Panchen Lamas. Tashilhunpo Monastery covers an area of nearly 300,000 square meters (3,229,279 sq. ft.). The main structures found in the Tashilhunpo Monastery are The Maitreya Chapel, The Panchen Lama's Palace and The Kelsang Temple. Tashilhunpo is the seat of the Panchen Lama since the Fourth Panchen Lama took charge in the monastery, and there are now nearly 800 lamas.