RV China border tour day 118-120: A visit to the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa!

Last time mentioned: Parking at Norbulingka Park in Shigatse...

In the morning, we came to Tashilhunpo Temple, which is as luxurious as the Forbidden City. It is a 5A-level scenic spot. The ticket in peak season is 100 yuan. Since we are more looking forward to the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, we did not go in to visit.

I ate a white melon brought all the way from Xinjiang. I bought it for 20 yuan. I don’t know how many days it has been stored... The result is super sweet!

Start the road to Lhasa!

Arrive in Lhasa in the evening and find a chain Peking duck restaurant with good reviews.

The duck skin is roasted to a crispy texture and the duck meat is delicious. It’s rare to be able to eat such authentic Peking duck in Lhasa!

Northeastern pickles

Fried shredded potatoes

Eat and drink enough, then take a walk and then go to bed. Good night!

The next day we drove to the Potala Palace. Today we walked around the Potala Palace at will.

"Potala" is a transliteration of Sanskrit, and its original meaning is "Buddhist Holy Land". The Potala Palace has a history of more than 1,300 years. It was originally built by Zampo Songtsen Gampo of the Tubo Dynasty to marry Princess Chizun and Princess Wencheng. In 1645, the fifth Dalai Lama rebuilt the Potala Palace. Since then, successive Dalai Lamas have successively expanded it, eventually reaching the size of the Potala Palace today. In the old days, it was the center of governance together with the Yamen of the Minister in Tibet.

Lunch is still the same as Lao San, Shaanxi Roujiamo, Liangpi, and Youpo Noodles

Walking through the underground passage to the opposite side of the Potala Palace, you can see its complete image under the shade of the trees.

Continue walking in Potala Palace Park, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with pleasant scenery

There are swarms of small fish in the water

Continue walking inside, and you will see the Potala Palace from the most beautiful angle on the water!

Then we came to Potala Palace Square. The national flag was erected in the center of the square, and the guarding policemen on both sides stood like statues. Here it can be seen that the Potala Palace does not show central symmetry, but it has gone through several dynasties and was built several times before it presents such a beautiful scene today.

On the other side of the square stands the Tibet Peaceful Liberation Monument

Lhasa City has an altitude of 3646 meters, which is very low in Tibet.

There are actually many people lying down and sleeping on the lawn of the square!

Walking and walking to the Tibetan Post Office in the sky

There are many Tibetan beauty souvenir albums to choose from.

After walking around for a long time, I started looking for a parking place tonight. I found that the parking fees in Lhasa were extremely expensive. I finally parked in the beautiful back garden of the Potala Palace for 50 yuan/day.

When you open the door, there is pool water

A group of ducks swim under the bridge in the garden

Cooking Lanzhou ramen and homemade Shandong rolls in the RV at night

So delicious!

Good night.

The next day, we visited the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple with a guided tour, both including guided tours, for 490 yuan/person, which is a lot of money!

Enter the Potala Palace first in the morning, the sun is just right

Typical Tibetan style architecture

The wordless monument at the foot of the Potala Palace is a monument erected by the fifth Panchen Lama after he expanded the Potala Palace.

Go upstairs from here to see the beautiful side view of the Potala Palace

Stand on the wall and overlook the entire Lhasa

It is said that the walls are painted with yak milk every year. If you smell it up close, it really smells like milk!

Making walls with Baima grass is not only tough, ventilated, and heat-insulating, but also greatly reduces the weight of the wall.

Shuanma stone

Only the first Buddhist hall you enter in the Potala Palace can be photographed. The walls are covered with exquisite Tibetan Buddhist murals. They are all painted with precious mineral pigments and will not fade for thousands of years. Many of Tibetan thangkas are painted with plant pigments, which are relatively difficult to preserve.

colorful walls

The Potala Palace is located on Maburi Mountain northwest of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. It is the highest altitude (3700 meters) in the world, a magnificent building integrating palaces, castles and temples. It is also the largest and most complete ancient palace in Tibet. Fort complex.

This magnificent complex consists of the White House in the east and the Red Palace in the middle. The White House is where the Dalai Lama has lived for generations. The Red Palace is the Buddhist hall and the pagoda hall of the Dalai Lamas of the past dynasties. It is also the core building of the Potala Palace.

White House

square

Potala Palace toilet, with a drop of more than ten meters high

There are countless rare treasures in the Red Palace. There are more than 3,700 Buddha statues and pagodas in the six-story alloy Buddha Hall alone. The Red Palace also includes the Mandala Hall, the Three Realms Hall, the Longevity Leji Hall, the Pagoda Hall of the 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso, the Pagoda Hall of the 5th Dalai Lama Losang Gyatso, and the Golden Dome Group. and other unique buildings.

red palace

Due to his great merits and deeds, the fifth Dalai Lama enshrined the gold statue of Sakyamuni and the silver statue of the fifth Dalai Lama side by side in the middle of the hereditary hall.

The fifth Dalai Lama Lobsang Gyatso's spiritual pagoda hall is also the largest and most gorgeous spiritual hall in the Potala Palace, with a total of about 3,721 kilograms of gold and 1.04 million taels of silver. It contains the physical body of the fifth Dalai Lama. The tower is inlaid with 18,677 ornaments such as pearls, gems, corals, amber, agate, etc. Under the dim light, it looks extremely dazzling and gorgeous. So the least valuable thing among them is gold.

The Fifth Dalai Lama’s Pagoda

There are ventilation holes all over the floor inside the temple.

Coming out of the Potala Palace, there is a circle of prayer wheels surrounding the outside.

Buddha statues on the wall

In front of the Potala Palace, devout Tibetans are worshiping

Eat Guokui and jelly for lunch

In the afternoon, we continued to visit the Jokhang Temple. Because the parking lot at the entrance of the Jokhang Temple was full of cars, we walked around three times and couldn't find a parking space.

Jokhang Temple There is already 1 With a history of more than 300 years, it was built by the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo and has a supreme status in Tibetan Buddhism. It is the most splendid Tubo-period building in Tibet and the earliest civil structure building in Tibet. It also pioneered the Tibetan plain-style temple layout.

The circle surrounding the Sakyamuni Buddha Hall in the center of the Jokhang Temple is called "Nangkuo", the circle surrounding the outer wall of Jokhang Temple is called "Bakuo", and the streets radiating out from the Jokhang Temple are called "Bakuo Street", that is, Bajiao Street. .

With the Jokhang Temple as the center and including the Potala Palace, Yaowang Mountain and Ramoche Temple, the large circle is called "Lin Kuo". These three rings from the inside to the outside are the routes used by Tibetans to perform prayer rituals.

The Buddhist temple is filled with exquisite murals

square

Above the Buddhist hall are golden domes

After coming out, there is a Tibetan Pedestrian Street at the door. There are a dazzling array of Tibetan handicrafts on the street.

giant prayer wheel

Ruins of the Yamen Office of the Qing Government’s Minister in Tibet

At night, park your car in the parking lot of Sera Monastery

Taking Hee Hee for a walk, he met a golden retriever by chance, and chased Hee Hee relentlessly.

I sigh that heehee actually has a suitor! It’s just that this suitor is a little too enthusiastic. I don’t know how to behave in front of the Sera Monastery, a sacred Buddhist holy place...

In the evening, I went to the back hill of Sera Monastery with two cyclists I met to get natural spring water. It is said that the spring water is very curative for gastrointestinal diseases, deafness and tinnitus.

Standing on the hill behind Sera Monastery and overlooking Lhasa

I made tea with my fellow riders in the RV using Sera Temple spring water, had a good chat over tea, and finally took a group photo in front of the RV. We said goodbye and we hope to meet again in the future!