Tibet

Tibet is an eternal topic and is in the dreams of so many people. Here Tibetan Buddhist monasteries blend into the landscape, becoming navigation landmarks. Imposing fortress ruins cling tosheer hilltops. Nomads herd yaks in snow-dusted pastures. Pilgrims prostratetheir way across the land to reach the sacred city of Lhasa. Its unique highaltitude, mysterious and exotic religious culture, majestic highland andextraordinary people reward every tourist with indelible lifelong memories.

It is a miracle that the Tibetan lifestylehas been the same as it was several thousand years ago. We could never find anytraces of modernization and industrialization here. Tibetan Buddhism is thedominant religion in Tibet, which inhabits most Tibetan's hearts u Tibetanexpresses their sincerity to gods by constructing monasteries. Thus, a greatdeal of splendid monasteries, vivid murals and sculptures, and solemn stupaswere built to worship Buddha. Lhasa and Shigatse, the most important cities ofTibet, feature most of the religious monuments including the Potala Palace,Jokhang Temple, as well as the Drepung, Sen Ramoche, Tashilunpo and SakyaMonasteries. Besides the monasteries, sacred mountains and holy lakes are alsogreat places to show the Tibetan people's devotion to Buddha. This strongreligious faith is an important element attracting tourists from the world toTibet.

Religious monasteries are central to Tibetanculture. For 1, 000 years Tibet was run by its monasteries, which overlookedevery town and settlement. These monasteries were not only religious centers,but also played an important role in educating people and spreading Tibetan artand culture. For Tibetans, being initiated into Buddhism and renunciation intothe monastery is a sacred and glorious event. Every family in Tibet wasexpected to give at least one son to a monastery to serve as one of its monks.It is estimated that about one-fifth of Tibet's male population were celibatemonks. The religious life, which was open to all, was the only avenue ofeducation, higher social status, and power. The monasteries were the onlycenters of learning art, literature and medicine in Tibet. Theyembodied every formal aspect of culture.

The place most worth visiting in Tibet is,of course, the Potala Palace. The Potala Palace, which is now on the list ofChinese national key protected cultural relics, is the most valuable storehousein Tibet. It is a huge treasure house for materials and relics about TibetanMonastery, religion, culture and art. Being the residence of Dalai ma and hislarge staff, Potala was also the seat of Tibetan government. All ceremonieswere carried out here and it housed a school for the religious training ofmonks and administrators. Since the tombs of the Dalai Lamas were located inthe palace, it also served as one of Tibet's major pilgrimage destinations.