The Ta'er Lamasery, a famous Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Qinghai Province, was recently renovated, restoring it to its former glory. Hoping to be the first worshippers to the lamasery after its renovation, pilgrims of different ethnic groups came from near and far. Some of them, in ethnic clothes and ornaments, carried abundant packages of offerings; some rotated a prayer wheel in their hands while chanting; and some lay flat or knelt on the ground, praying for the happiness and well-being of their families.
Standing in an imposing manner according to the gradient of the mountain, the Ta'er Lamasery is a wonderful architectural complex that embraces 9,300 structures, including scripture halls, Buddha halls, lamas' residences, and Buddhist pagodas. Built in 1622, in the center of the entire complex, the Great Hall of Gold Tiles is the core structure of the lamasery. The ridges of the hall's roof are decorated with auspicious objects such as treasure bottles, gold streamers, and gold deer. In the center of the hall is a silver pagoda built around a pipal tree; and a statue of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, is placed in the pagoda. In the hall there also exists a collection of hundreds of works by Tsongkhapa and his disciples as well as hand-written copies of scriptures in Tibetan and Mongolian.
In March 1961, the Ta'er Lamasery was placed by the State Council on the first list of important cultural heritage under state protection. Between June 1992 and August 1996, the state invested 37 million yuan in maintaining the lamasery. The maintenance project, which is larger than any other renovation of the lamasery, restored the original appearance of the complex. In April 2001, the state allocated another fund of 14 million yuan to maintain the Great Hall of Gold Tiles.
Wanting to restore the hall as it used to be, the technicians involved in the maintenance of the hall concentrated on repairing and changing the hall's damaged wood parts as well as its gold-plated tiles and adornments. A total of 160 kilograms of gold was forged in renewing the roof tiles and decorations. In addition, they also conducted moth-proof and rot-proof processes on the wood elements and re-installed a lightning conductor on the hall's roof.
Ticket: 30 yuan (US$3.7)
Transportation: Reach to Xining City first then take a mini bus at Ximen bus station to Huangzhong town, where Ta'er Lamasery located.
Open Time: 8:00 - 17:00 (Photo Taking Forbidden)
(China Pictorial March 10, 2003)
|
