Showing 1-9 of 9 results
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Chapel of Jampa
Walk through the monastery and bear left for the first and probably most impressive of Tashilhunpo's sights: the Chapel of Jampa. An entire building houses the world's largest gilded statue, a 26m figure of Jampa (Maitreya), the Future Buddha. The statue was made in 1914 under the auspices of the ninth Panchen Lama and took some 900 artisans and labourers four years to complete.
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Kelsang Temple
The centrepiece of this remarkable collection of buildings is a large courtyard, which is the focus of festival and monastic activities. This is a fascinating place to sit and watch the pilgrims and monks go about their business. Monks congregate here before their lunch-time service in the main assembly hall. A huge prayer pole rears up from the centre of the flagged courtyard and the surrounding walls are painted with buddhas. There are splendid photo opportunities here.
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Philosophy College
Not particularly interesting, but you might be lucky and find yourself in time for debating, which is held in the courtyard of the Philosophy College.
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Summer Palace of the Panchen Lamas
Though it ranks far below Tashilhunpo, if you have extra time in Shigatse, pay a visit to the Summer Palace of the Panchen Lamas on the south end of town. Recent efforts at rehabilitating the straggly gardens are taking fruit, as is the restoration or reworking of wall murals. While the new paintings cannot compare to the masterly works of the past, they are still quite lovely and, covering every surface of the rooms as they do with vibrant colours and fantastic images, form a rather awesome whole.
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Tashilhunpo Monastery
One of the few monasteries in Tibet that weathered the stormy seas of the Cultural Revolution, Tashilhunpo remains relatively unscathed. It is a real pleasure to explore the busy cobbled lanes twisting around the aged buildings. Covering 70,000 sq metres, the monastery is essentially a walled town in its own right.
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Tomb of the 10th Panchen Lama
This dazzling gold-plated funeral chörten holds the remains of the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989. His image is displayed in front of the tomb. The ceiling of the chapel is painted with a Kalachakra (Dukhor in Tibetan) mandala and the walls are painted with buddhas of real gold.
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Tomb of the Fifth to the Ninth Panchen Lamas
Built by the 10th Panchen Lama to replace tombs destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, the central statue is of the ninth Panchen Lama. The 10th Panchen Lama returned to Shigatse from Beijing to dedicate the tomb in 1989. He fulfilled his prediction that he would die on Tibetan soil just three days after the ceremony.
Read more about Tomb of the Fifth to the Ninth Panchen Lamas
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Tomb of the Fourth Panchen Lama
The 11m silver-and-gold funerary chörten of the fourth Panchen Lama (1570-1662) was the only tomb chörten to escape destruction during the Cultural Revolution.
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Victory Chapel
This chapel is a centre for philosophy and houses a large statue of Tsongkhapa flanked by Jampa and Jampelyang (Manjushri). If it's not open, try to convince one of the monks to let you in.
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Showing 1-9 of 9 results
