China 2009 Day 5 - Tibet, Nyingchi to Lhasa - Ganden Monastery (甘丹寺, Gāndān Sì)

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02 Jun 2009

Having entered the Lhasa district after crossing Mi La Mountain Pass, we were greeted by repeated shades of brown as our coach rumbled on towards Ganden Monastery (甘丹寺, Gāndān Sì). Ganden Monastery is the original monastery of the Gelukpa (Yellow Hat) sect founded by Tsongkhapa. Being one of the later Buddhist sects, it differentiated itself from the other existing sects by its implementation of a strict monastic code, e.g. lamas from other sects were not always required to be celibate, lamas from the Gelukpa sect were forbiddened to marry. However like the rest of the other Tibetan Buddhists sects, they were not vegetarians as vegetables were hard to come by. The sect quickly supplanted all the other sects in terms of influence resulting in the Dalai and Panchen lamas dominating the political scene in Tibet.

Unfortunately, our coach captain took a wrong turn and sent our coach straight through the narrow roads of a small town at the foot of the mountain. After negotiating some tight corners, he finally managed to get onto the main road but not before snapping an electrical cable. Ops.

The winding road up the mountain


Higher and higher we went, watching the village below shrink


Finally near the top, Ganden Monastery came within full view

Ganden Monastery was built in 1419, it is said that when Tsongkhapa wanted to pick a site for the monastery he decided to toss his hat and would build it on where ever his hat landed. As he tossed his hat a large crow caught it and brought it up a mountain before finally dropping it. Hence the monastery ended up on the top of a mountain, 4750 metres above sea level. Tsongkhapa himself is entombed in a golden stupa encrusted with precious stones within the monastery.

The monastery is one of the three important University monasteries and the furthest from Lhasa. It was the first important large monastery we visited and it was rather different from the rest. First, they insisted on charging an entry fee for the Mahayana monk that was with us on the trip and became the only monastery in the entire trip to do so. Seems like they recognise no other monastic brethren but themselves. Second, unlike other monasteries they allowed photography within the shelthered compounds for a fee of RMB 20 per compound. This can quickly accumulate to RMB 100. Hence, below are the only photos of the interior of Tibetan monasteries I managed to take. Fortunately, most of them are similar.

Nowadays, important monasteries like Ganden are provided for by the central government while smaller monasteries are left to raise their own upkeep from donations.

A retirement house


The main temple building. White walls are splash painted using some mixture of milk while red comes from some sort of grass


A donkey lazing nearby


Making our way towards the main highlight, it was a sunny day as usual


A white stupa stores scriptures


At 4750 metres and less oxygen than in the city of Lhasa itself, these little steps became larger

Finally in the main hall, immediately the smell of yak butter engulfed us. Pass RMB 20 to one of the lamas waiting around and start snapping away. Monasteries are usually adorned with art painted with paint made from grinded gemstones and animal material. The special mix ensures the colours stay for hundreds of years but it also means animal material on the walls or Thangkas.

Offering of white Khatas

Lamas reading the scriptures. I am not sure if they are doing their famous scripture debates as they seem rather docile here. Scriptures are printed on long paper cards using ancient Chinese block printing techniques without punctuation. To know where one sentence begins from the next, they usual follow the beat of a small percussion device that they strike while reciting.

Debating the scriptures are also used as a form of oral examination for Buddhist degrees or even doctorates.

Tsongkhapa (middle) with his two most important disciples. The one on the left eventually succeeded him. It is said that the two were originally his senior fellow disciples under the same teacher. However he far surpassed them and eventually they became his disciples.

The golden stupa encrusted with precious stones where Tsongkhapa's remains are entombed. Many of the precious stones are unfamiliar as they are actually corals from the ancient sea that once covered the Tibetan plateau eons ago. This stupa is tiny compared to the humongous stupa that entombs the 7th Dalai Lama in Potala Palace that we will visit tomorrow. As no pictures are allowed in most of the later places we visited, this is the only picture of a golden stupa used to entomb the remains of a living buddha.

I forgot what this tent-like structure is but I remember that a young lama was beckoning to me. As I approached, I finally understood that he was indicating a good spot to take a picture of the interior...


... of which I happily snapped away


Next we entered an area where Protectors of Buddhism were displayed in their terrifying forms. Here is an Tibetan impression of Yama (阎罗, Yánluó), lord of hell, also known as death.


This should be the Tibetan impression of Yamāntaka, the death of death, a form taken on by bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjusri (文殊菩薩, Wén Shū Pú Sà) to defeat Yama when he was on a rampage


A golden oranament on the roof as we left the main monastery hall


The winding pathways around the monastery look serene


There should be at least two of these poles here as this is an important monastery and also a place of learning. But I couldn't seem to find the other one


Then, it was time to go and continue our journey to the city of Lhasa

Unfortunately for our coach captain, the village elder and the family whose electrical cable he snapped were waiting for us at the foot of the hill. He quickly gave them the RMB 150 that they asked for and left saying he was lucky that they did not claim cost for any short circuited household appliances.

Finally, after a day of coach, we arrived in the city Lhasa itself with the iconic Potala Palace visible from most areas. Lhasa is at an altitude of 3490 metres with approximately 68% of sea level oxygen.


Dinner time! A great restaurent in Lhasa, we had most of our meals here


I wonder how far the duck had to travel before it got roasted


The last of our high altitude medication


After dinner we arrived at Tian Hai Hotel for much needed rest.


The high altitude throughout the day was a little too much for some of those in our tour group.


The view from my hotel room window with the Potala Palace at the back

Lhasa is also known as the city of the sun -- it receives one of the most amount of sunlight in a year. While we were here, the sun set daily at about 9:30pm. The UV rays are extremely powerful here making hats and sunblock a must. Many Tibetans have red cheeks due to heavy UV damage on their facial skin.

Tired from an entire day of coaching, we took a quick bath and lazed around till we slept. Tomorrow we had to ascend the many steps to visit the interior of the Potala Palace. Due to regulation, each tour group had only an hour within the premises. This made it paramount that we arrive punctually at our pre-appointed entry time.

View the next related post here. Return to the trip index here.

China 2009 Day 5 - Tibet, Nyingchi to Lhasa - Mi La Mountain Pass (米拉山口)

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02 Jun 2009

Today we embarked on the longest bus ride of the entire journey from Bayi Town in Nyingchi to Lhasa. En route, there were many sights as the greenery in Nyingchi recedes, giving way to barren rocks. Most challenging of all, our bus ride will take us across the Mi La Mountain Pass (米拉山口, mi la shan kou) at an altitude of 5013.25 metres. But not before we enjoyed a low oxygen lunch at 4500 metres -- the most tiring meal of the trip. Interestingly, the highway we were on links all the way from Shanghai to Nepal. The Sichuan to Lhasa section was built by the People's Liberation Army at a hefty cost of one to two lives per kilometre due to the harsh nature of a low oxygen environment.

A quick stop along the way to buy the excellent watermelons in Nyingchi. This will be the last time we have them.


Toilet break

We came to Ah Pei's New Village (阿沛新村， ah pei xin cun). It seems that Ah Pei was the Tibetan general (or noble man) that went to Beijing to negotiate the Chinese liberation of Tibet. As a result his kin were awarded a new village that's kept spick and span. They even have a cool bus stop.

An old Tibetan couple spinning Manni Wheels


This village in the middle of nowhere has streets so neat it puts some cities to shame.


Most Tibetan towns around here have homes built in this design


This looks like an important building. Inside houses a small exhibition containing old artifacts of the previous people that lived here.


After leaving the village, we came to a scenic photo spot where a large rock blocks the flow of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. On the large rock were some white khatas possibly thrown over


More of the blue river


The look out point were the picture of the rock was taken.


Beyond the rock and panorama of the river


Over on the other side of the road were toilets, souvenir stalls, and here, a dried fruit stall


Continuing along the river, we came to view an old town on the opposite bank that was an important stop for travellers in the old days


Panorama of the old town. A White Stupa is indicative of a storage place for scripture.


Next, we came up to our lunch stop at 4500 metres! Some of our fellow tour members were already sniffing from the oxygen canisters.


It's Sichuan cuisine as usual

This is one of the best meals we had with the most amazing dish being the herbal chicken soup. Piping hot on a cool afternoon. We took our time to chew through the meal as there's only approximately 60% of oxygen at sea level over here. Rice is actually cooked using pressure cookers.

Finally, we arrived at Mi La Mountain Pass, some 5012.25 metres above see level and we saw two cyclist that cycled all the way up here from Chengdu!

The winds were strong. Streamers made from colourful flags are a common sight in Tibet. Mantras are written on them such that when the wind blows, the mantra is "recited". Blue signifies the sky, White, clouds, Red, fire, Green, nature, and Yellow, river.

The view from the top is beautiful, but it seems like global warming has taken its toll. According to my uncle whose been to Tibet seven times, there used to be snow here.


Panorama from Mi La Mountain Pass


Crossing the mountain pass, we were in the Lhasa district where the land is mostly barren and trees are scarce due to the punishing sun. Here, heaps of yak dung are dried in the sun by yak herding tribes to be used as burning material. I wonder if they use it as fuel for cooking...


Yak skin tents belonging to the Tibetan tribe that herds in these areas. My guide claims that they are actually very well off although they live in such tents. I have noticed some shiny new looking motorcycles parked outside a few of them.

A Tibetan pilgrim en route to Lhasa. The do not just walk there, they have to prostrate themselves fully on the ground at every step from the start of their village until they arrive in Lhasa. Everyone should do this once in a lifetime and it is usually organised by the villages that will send an accompanying vehicle carrying rations. They rest by nightfall and the pilgrimage can take up to two years or more for those that live further from Lhasa.

Panorama at another pit stop


Some wild flowers


Then, we arrived at the birthplace of Songtsän Gampo, the famous founder of the first Tibetan Empire and had famously married a princess each from Nepal and the Tang Dynasty.


Opposite the tablet is the entrance to the birthplace


However we would not be visiting as we were only making a pit stop


The sun's strong rays here are commonly harnessed to heat water

After a short break, we were headed towards our next highlight before reaching Lhasa city proper. This was Ganden Monastery, the founding lamasery of the prevalent Yellow Hat Sect built near the top of a mountain. Also, it was one of the only lamaseries that allowed the taking of pictures within it for a fee (donation).

View the next related post here. Return to the trip index here.