Shoton Festival Tour in 2014

The celebration of the Shoton Festival 2014 will be started on August 25th and this celebration will last to September 2nd. A series of local traditional activities will be carried out for the celebration of the annual grand festival. Shoton Festival had been taken as one of the best opportunities to introduce and promote Lhasa City to visitors from different corners of the world. Tourists could explore the traditional folk customs and learn the profound Tibetan culture through various celebration activities.

The Buddha exhibition ceremony at Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery always symboizes the start of the annual Shoton Festival Celebration. The devout pilgrims of Tibetan Buddhism would collect at these monasteries to wait for the giant Thangka of Sakyamuni early in the morning. Generally, the giant Thangka would be unrolled on the exhibition deck behind Drepung Monastery. The pilrgirms would present Hada and perform body-length prostration toward the Thangka of Skyamuni for worshipping. Except for the Buddha Exhibition ceremony, a series of traditional religious ceremonies will also be held in the other monasteries in Lhasa, such as Jokhang Temple and Ganden Monastery.

Tourists making a Shoton Festival in 2014 could participate in the openning ceremony of Lhasa Shoton Festival on August 25th. A grand live performance called Princess Wencheng will be presented to the audiences at 20:00 p.m. on 25th. Grand celebration activities will also be presented in the gardens in Lhasa. Visitors could enjoy the traditional Tibetan opera performances in Norbu Lingka (the summer palace of Dalai Lama) and Zongjiao Lukhang. The most noted Tibetan opera teams from different regions in Tibet would collect in the parks in Lhasa to present their best performance for local Tibetans and visitors during the celebration of the Shoton Festival every year.

Except for the theatrical performances, there will also be a series of cultural exhibitions during the celebration of the annual Shoton Festival. The 4th Tibet Thangka Art Fair will be held inNorbu Lingka between August 24th and 28th. Visitors be interested in the Thangka art could pay a visit there. In additon, the 7th Mt. Everest Photography Exhibition will be held on the Potala Palace Square between August 24th and September 2nd. Tourists could take a look of the impressive pictures on the square after visiting Potala Palace.

Tourists planning a Shoton Festival tour in 2014 should note that the number of visitors in Lhasa in this period is much larger than the other seasons, which means the hotels and admission tickets of Potala Palace are in larger demand. To ensure a smooth trip, tourists are strongly suggested to book the hotels and admission ticket of Potala Palace in advance.