Driving on the road far away from Shigatse, from the west city you can see the gold roof of Tashilunpo Monastery shinning under the sunshine. Experiencing five centuries, it still maintains the magnificent vigor. Tashilhunpo Monastery (meaning auspicious) is one of the Six Big Monasteries of Gelugpa (or Yellow Hat Sect) in China and the biggest Tibetan Gelugpa Buddhism monastery in back Tibet area. Also called the Heap of Glory, the monastery is located at the foot of Drolmari (Tara's Mountain), Shigatse. Tashilunpo Monastery represents the Tibetan super architecture art in the Last Tibetan spirit. The monastery attracts thousands of Buddhists and tourists from domestic and abroad to travel and worship every year.
History:
Gendun Drubpa, the first Dalai Lama and a most outstanding disciple of Tsong Khapa founded Tashilhunpo Monastery in 1477. In 1600, the Fourth Panchen Lama started a large-scale expansion and his successors carried on. In 1713, the Chinese emperor finally ascertained the Fifth Panchen Lama’s title and status. The monastery became the seat of Panchen Lama. At its climax, there are 3,000 rooms with more than 5,000 lamas, above 50 underling temples and over 30 manors. From the Fourth Panchen Lama, all the successors take it as seat. The monastery now has a building space of 300 thousand 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. |
