Architectural Characteristics

During Tibet tour, you will find many beautiful and colorful houses in different type of architectural characteristics. Some of them are painted based on religious rules, some of them are built for the host's beliefs, some are just constructed in old traditions.

Architectural Characteristics

Vernacular dwelling of Tibetans not only caring about preventing cold, wind and shake but also open ventilation door, set dooryard and clearstory, etc. So as to better solute natural disadvantage factors as climate, geology which impact producing and living and acquire aeration and heating functions.

In Tibetan traditional architectures, the most representative vernacular dwelling is the tower structure house. The tower structure is mainly made of wood and stones, with sedate and steady outlooking, is in a simple and ragged style. The tower structure house built by the mountain have external walls upward and inner walls steep. In general, tower structure house can be divided into two floors and rooms are calculated by pillars' numbers. The ground floor is set as stock barn and storage room. The second floor is for living and the bigger ones are set as sitting room, bed room and kitchen and smaller ones are set as storage room and stairs room. The third floor is set as chapel and balcony if there is one. It is named as tower structure house because it looks like a castle. Solidly constructed, vertebration and neat corners of the features of tower house enable to prevent wind, coldness and defend enemies and thieves.

Tent house are entirely different from tower house. It is a special architecture, developed by Tibetans in pasturing areas for nomadic life. Common tent house is very small, shaped in square or triangle in two dimensions. Frame structure of the tent house as high as nearly two meters is put up by wood poles, upon which is covered by clack yak fur carpet in the middle of the tent's roof, a slit at width of fifteen centimeters and one point five meters in length is kept for ventilation and lighting. The ten house is pulled by yak fur ropes in every corner, fixed in the ground. Inside, a short wall around fifty centimeters high lay up by grass blocks, adobes, or pebbles, upon which things like qinke barley, butter packet and dry cattle dungs as fuel are placed. Kitchen is placed in the center, behind it offered for Buddha. Lamb leather is placed around it for sitting and resting. Tent house features as simple structure, easy to put up, assemble and move.