Matt in China - 2012 - Shangrila

Share and discuss your travelling experiences and pics from around the world. Photo journals encouraged.

Moderators: Brenda, Kelly

User avatar
cbobcat49
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1807
Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 7:19 pm
Camera Model: Olympus Stylus 400
Location: Tonawanda, NY
Contact:

Awesome! Tibet looks like the Wyoming of China.
What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. ~Henry David Thoreau
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

cbobcat49 wrote:Awesome! Tibet looks like the Wyoming of China.
:shock: I could have saved a lot of money
User avatar
ApproachingLight
Board Expert
Board Expert
Posts: 871
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:19 am
Location: Rochester
Contact:

pics!!
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Pole (start of a mani pile)
Image

A shrine at the top of the mountain (off limits to us)
Image

Image

Stoves becoming mani piles
Image

Me and the Hengduan Mountain Range (the source of the Yangtze river)
Image

Off in the distance that huge mountain made where I was standing seem pretty low to the ground.
Image
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Down from the mountain, we head back to Shangrila Old Town and then to the north to Ganden Sumtseling Monastery (松赞林寺) in the late afternoon. Built in 1679 by the 5th Dalai Lama, and the size of a small village, this is the largest monastery in Yunnan and one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in China. Because of its importance to the Yellow Hat Tibetan sect of Buddhism and close ties to the Dalai Lama, this monastery was nearly demolished during the Cultural Revolution. Since 1983 it has gone under extensive reconstruction which continues today.During my visit a large crane sat atop the east lamasery.

Once home to upwards of 2000 monks, it now houses just under 700. It covers a sole hill and sits across a shallow lake. To the east and west are small domiciles of the faithful, which are then surrounded by rolling farmland. Each hilltop and mountaintop in sight is crowned with an alter.

Here is a satellite image of the monastery The lake to the south is completely dried up in this imagery.
[gmap=15]27.86342,99.70419[/gmap]

A panoramic of the Gandan Monastery
Image
Click here to load a large version of the panoramic

Clouds overhead and the light getting lower, the gold-capped roofs and grass-covered walls turn the whole temple gold.
Image

Several entrance-ways lead to a maze of alleys
Image

So what do we do? Buy some street-potatoes!
Image

A view of the Monastery from the lake.
Image

The lake. Notice the alters on the tops of each hill.
Image

Prayer flags circle the lake.
Image

Image
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Light is getting low... hurry to into the monastery...
Image

Image

Image

Image

Notice construction on the top there.
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Entering one of the temples. I took no photos inside as it is disrespectful. To enter, males must step over the foot-high threshold left foot first, careful not to touch the wood. Females step right foot first. No hats, no photography, no commerce.

The interiors of the temples are some of the most elaborately decorated structures I have ever seen. The walls and pillars are painted with bold and bright colors, day-glow accents and gold trim. Giant bronze Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or Vajrayanas tower over everything else, and they are adorned with gifts of fruit, money, bottled beverages, and trinkets. A monk is usually at the base of the statue, reading scripture and available to talk with any worshipers. Visitors should walk in a clockwise direction, and a tunnel under each statue allows them to circomvent each room. Photos, statues, paintings, and word commemorate other deities, monks past, and Lamas. Everything is colorful, decorated and meaningful. It's sensory-overload. If one wall isn't stacked with statues, its walls are covered with deity-filled murals (Tibetan Buddhism has hundreds of deities). Money is stuffed into every crack, set on every surface, and offered on platters to the deity or dead who best symbolized what the worshiper needs, wants, or has. The scent of potala incense is calming, and the chanting of monks, either in the temple or from some distance away, gives me a sense I am out of place, yet safe and at peace. I could easily spend hours in each temple, viewing the art, observing the details, (and if I could read Tibetan or Chinese) learning a bit about the people honored there.
If I could photograph inside the temples, I'd plan a trip based on it. For now, the experience is all I needed.
Image

Image
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Some homes within the monastery are simple, others are elaborately decorated.
Image

Some hand carved and panted doors were ruined by the construction.
Image

Image

A view towards the lake from a construction zone.
Image
View a larger version of this panoramic

Image
View a larger version of this panoramic

Image

Pretty fancy incense at this place
Image

Grain storage
Image

Very old and well-used prayer wheel
Image

Image

Image
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Post Reply