Tibet Monastery Tour – Brief Introduction of Tibet Monasteries

A series of monasteries in Tibet have been the must-go spots for tourists making a Tibet tour. Tibet Tour would like to make a brief introduction about the Tibet monasteries for tourists planning to make a Tibet monastery tour.

Tourists making a Tibet monastery tour would find there are so many monasteries in Tibet and it seems that the air would even be religious. Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Ganden Monastery, Tashilhunpo Monastery, Samye Monastery, Thurphu Monastery and Sakya Monastery are the most famous monasteries on Tibet Plateau. According to statistics, there are more than 1700 monasteries in Tibet currently. Actually, the architectural style of Tibet monasteries is quite similar to the blockhouses, always looked magnificent and solemn.

Brief Introduction of Tibet Monasteries – Location

Most of the Tibet monasteries were constructed against the mountains. The buildings in the monasteries are well-proportioned due to the topography. Taking Potala Palace as an example, tourists making a Tibet monastery tour would find that there are 13 floors from the ground to the top. Taking an overlook from the ground, tourists would find the monastery and the original mountains were integrated together. The Tibet monasteries always cover a large area and the grand complex is usually composed of shrine palace, Buddha hall, the Tripitaka Sutra Pavilion and the dwelling of the lamas. For example, Drepung Monastery covers an area of 0.28 million square meters. The construction of some of the monasteries covers the while mountain and looks like a city if you take an overlook in distance.

Brief Introduction of Tibet Monasteries – Palatial Architectural Feature

Tourists making a Tibet monastery tour wound find that most of the monasteries enjoy a palatial architectural feature. The important monasteries are always decorated with a splendid golden roof, which symbols the status of the monastery. Except for the golden roof, some of the monasteries even have a gold-plated pavilion. There are 3 golden palaces and 5 golden pagodas in Potala Palace. The rows of Tibetan prayer wheels in front of monasteries would also make the monasteries looked more solemn and magnificent. In addition, the precious murals and sculptures presented in the monasteries would make the monasteries more respectful.

Though most of the Tibet monasteries enjoy a similar architectural style, each monastery has their distinctive features due to the different natural environment and different religion culture. Tourists making a Tibet monastery tour would find that the architectural and decoration style of the monasteries belong to Bon and Tibetan Buddhism are quite different from each other. Taking Samye Monastery as an example, it is the earliest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism. All the affiliate buildings in Samye Monastery were constructed around the main shrine hall.