Shigates Tour,Travel Guide

Narthang Monastery

Narthang Monastery is a monastery located 15km (9.3mi) west of Shigatse. Founded in 1153 by one of the disciples of Atisha, Nathang was the fourth great monastery of Tsang with Shalu Monastery, Sakya and Tashilhunpo. Narthang was first famous for its scriptual teaching and monastic discipline. After the fourteenth century it gained great eminence as the oldest of Tibet’s three great printing centres (the other being the Potala and the Derge).
“I went on to Narthang to visit the largest of the printing establishments in Tibet. The number of engraved wooden plates used for the printing of the various religious books was prodigious巨大的. Set up on shelves, in rows, they filled a huge building. The printers, splattered with ink up to their elbows,sat upon the floor as they worked, while in other rooms monks cut the paper according to the size required for each kind of book. There was no haste; chatting and drinking of buttered tea went on freely. What a contrast to the fevered agitation in our newspaper printing-rooms.”

Located on a hill in the center of the city, the full name in Tibetan of the monastery means: “all fortune and happiness gathered here” or “heap of glory”.
The monastery is the traditional seat of successive Panchen Lamas, the second highest ranking tulku lineage in the Gelukpa tradition.
Pilgrims circumambulate the monastery on the Lingkor (sacred path) outside the walls.
gigantic statue of the Maitreya Buddha

The Maitreya Temple known as (Jambu Chyenmu)) on the west side is the tallest building of the monastery. It was erected in 1914 by the Ninth Panchen Lama to house a gigantic statue of the Maitreya Buddha and is 26.2 metres (86 feet) in height. The statue sits on a splendid lotus throne in the ‘European’ posture with its hands in the symbolic teaching pose. A single finger of the giant figure is almost 4 feet in length. The statue contains 279 kg (614 lbs) of gold and 150,000 kg (330,000 lb) of copper and brass moulded on a solid wooden frame by Tibetan and Nepalese craftsmen. Small versions of the Maitreya are positioned in all four corners of the chamber and the murals on either side of the door show a more active, antic style than any to be seen in Lhasa.

Tashilhunpo Monastery ,literally means”The heap of glory” in Tibetan,founded in 1447 by Gendun Drup, the First Dalai Lama,is a historic and culturally important monastery next to Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet.
The monastery is the traditional seat of successive Panchen Lamas, the second highest ranking tulku lineage in the Gelukpa tradition.
Located on a hill in the center of the city, the full name in Tibetan of the monastery means: “all fortune and happiness gathered here” or “heap of glory”.

Architecture of the Tashilhunpo Monastery
Jamba Chyenmu ‘The Maitreya Temple’
The Maitreya Temple known as (Jambu Chyenmu)) on the west side is the tallest building of the monastery. It was erected in 1914 by the Ninth Panchen Lama to house a gigantic statue of the Maitreya Buddha and is 26.2 metres (86 feet) in height. The statue sits on a splendid lotus throne in the ‘European’ posture with its hands in the symbolic teaching pose. A single finger of the giant figure is almost 4 feet in length. The statue contains 279 kg (614 lbs) of gold and 150,000 kg (330,000 lb) of copper and brass moulded on a solid wooden frame by Tibetan and Nepalese craftsmen. Small versions of the Maitreya are positioned in all four corners of the chamber and the murals on either side of the door show a more active, antic style than any to be seen in Lhasa.
Gudong: The Panchen Lama’s Palace
On the east side of the monastery is the old living quarters of the Panchen Lama, the Panchen Lama’s Palace known as Gudong. Within, a narrow courtyard gives access to the temple containing the Fourth Panchen Lama’s tomb. The temple vestibule has very large inscriptions at either end praising his holiness.
Inside, the silver and gold stupa tomb rivals any in the Potala Palace in Lhasa for the splendour of its craftsmenship and jewels. Measuring 11 metres (36 ft) in height it contains 85 kg (187 lb) of gold and countless semi-precious stones. On the left is three statues representing Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, whom the Panchen Lams are thought to embody.

Main Chanting Hall
The main chanting hall contains the throne of the Panchen Lama and two connected chapels. The left-one is devoted to an elaborately ensconced Sakyamuni with eight Bodhisattva robed in bocade. The right hand one is dedicated to Tara the goddess who sanctifies the mountain above and whose image is depicted throughout the temple. A White Tara goddess occupies the centre of the altar with a Jade Green Tara on either side.
Sutra Hall

Tashilhunpo Monastery. The two tiered gilded bronze structure of the roof chapels can be seen at the top of the picture
Sutra Hall is the repository chamber of the monastery containing some 10,000 hand-carved wooden blocks used for printing the Buddhist scriptures. These are all Tibetan translations of the original Sanskrit text. Visitors to the temple can buy colured prayer flags and Tibetan lunar calendars as souvenirs which are printed in the chamber.

Gyeni Chanting Hall
The Gyeni Chanting Hall is a chanting chamber of the Tashilhunpo Monastery on the south-east side where Tibetan Buddhism is practised. It has a debating garden in its courtyard with many fine trees. The roof of the chanting hall has a chapel on the north side where two very tall guardians are formed from its structural columns by the use of masks and ancient armour. Outside it are some extraordinary colourful Buddha murals and animal murals which have emerged from folklore and animism. It is situated near the smaller chanting hall of the Ngagang college on the west side.

Ngang College
Ngang College is a smaller chanting chamber of the monastery on the west side of the main path upstairs of the Deyangshar courtyard. A Ngang a morning chanting ceremony with religious musical instruments usually takes place between the few remaining monks of the temple. Pilgrims may circumambulate the hall but tourists, particularly photographers are asked to be extremely sensitive to the religious atmosphere.
Chuajing Duogang: The Great Courtyard
The great flagstoned courtyard of Tashilhunpo, known as (Chuajing Duogang) has walls which are covered by over 1000 repeated Sakyamuni, with their hands gesturing the five symbolic poses (mudras)

The Great Gallery
The gallery of the monastery surrounds the Deyangshar courtyard and leads to the chapels on the east side housing many hundreds of tiny Buddha statues.
The Roof Chapels
The roof of Tashilhunpo has several bronze-gated chapels located on two-tiered levels. On the north side, above the chapels of the chanting hall is the funerary stupa of the First Dalai Lama, the only one not entombed in Lhasa. On the east side is a small ‘chamber of horrors’ chapel. Painted demons, considered now to be defenders of Buddhism betray their origins as the terrifying gods of the old animist Bön faith who only later were absorbed by Buddhism. On the south side is a charming Tara chapel with blue and gold murals on the walls depicting Tibetan history.

Narthang Monastery

Narthang Monastery is a monastery located 15km (9.3mi) west of Shigatse. Founded in 1153 by one of the disciples of Atisha, Nathang was the fourth great monastery of Tsang with Shalu Monastery, Sakya and Tashilhunpo. Narthang was first famous for its scriptual teaching and monastic discipline. After the fourteenth century it gained great eminence as the oldest of Tibet’s three great printing centres (the other being the Potala and the Derge).
“I went on to Narthang to visit the largest of the printing establishments in Tibet. The number of engraved wooden plates used for the printing of the various religious books was prodigious巨大的. Set up on shelves, in rows, they filled a huge building. The printers, splattered with ink up to their elbows,sat upon the floor as they worked, while in other rooms monks cut the paper according to the size required for each kind of book. There was no haste; chatting and drinking of buttered tea went on freely. What a contrast to the fevered agitation in our newspaper printing-rooms.”

Shigatse/Nyemo

Nyemo,beautiful little town on the way from Shigatse to Lhasa,highland barley grow under the mountains,walk around the field,watch people making traditional incense and porcelain,perfect chance to experience Tibetan countryside life