Four Days Short Trip in Tibet

Tibet has been my dreaming place for years. I made a short trip to Tibet several days ago as I wished. Fours days are far from enough to enjoy the beauty and culture of this land, I will arrange a long trip to visit the other places of Tibet next time.

The day when we arrived, we soon felt breathless almost immediately because we were then at approximately 3,800 meters (12,467 feet) above sea level, higher than we have ever been before, although we had all religiously taken some medicine to alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness in advance, under the suggestion of our team leader. The sunlight is very bright as what we read on the internet. We went through the formalities soon and exited the baggage claim area. The guide met us at Lhasa Airport and brought us to the bus, which took us on the two-hour ride into the capital city, Lhasa. After did the check in at the hotel, the guide left. Having a short rest and a simple meal, all of us walked out of the hotel to enjoy the Tibetan flavors in spite of feeling unwell. To our surprise, there isn’t big difference between Lhasa and the other inner cities. Most of the buildings are modern brick structures except the trapezoid shaped windows and fluttering prayer flags of the Tibetan homes. Some of the Tibetans walking aside were wearing their distinctive national costumes, but some dressed as the Han people especially the young girls who were in fashionable clothes.

The second day in Lhasa, we visited the Drepung Monastery and the Carpet Factory in the morning, visited the Tibet Museum and the Norbulingka Park in the afternoon, and enjoyed a delicious Sichuan-style a la carte dinner finally. The Drepung Monastery is one of the "great three" Gelukpa university monasteries of . Most famous Tibetan monks had ever studied there. It is the largest Lama Temple in Tibet.The Coqen Hall maybe the most magnificent architecture of the temple, which is supported by 183 pillars carved with fine patterns. In the Hall are worshipped precious sutras and vivid statues of Buddha. When visiting the Carpet Factory, we were just dazed by the colorful carpets with various Ethnic Flavor patterns. In the end, almost all of us bought a favorite carpet after hard selecting. Tibet Museum can help you know several thousand years of Tibetan history, politics, religion, cultural arts, and customs. There are displayed around 1,000 precious objects divided into pre-history culture, indivisible history, culture and arts, and people’s customs. Norbulingka Park is said to be the summer residence during the reign of the Eighth Dalai Lama. It is now a favourite picnic spot and provides a beautiful venue for theatre, dancing and festivals, particularly the Sho Dun or "Yoghurt Festival".

It soon came to the third day, when we visited the Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, the Jokhang Temple, the thriving bazaar of the Barkhor Street and the Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital. A very busy but pleasing day! The first destination was the Potala Palace, sitting majestically on a hill dominating Lhasa. It’s said many Dalai Lamas have built this amazing structure. We visited almost all of the corners from the bottom to the very top of the palace. The outside Views are surreal and the inside is beautiful and spiritual. Every room was inhabited by Buddha statues, with monks and local people praying, burning incents and taking part in Buddhist rituals. Jokhang temple is a four-story construction, with roofs covered with gilded bronze tiles. It is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Pilgrims. On our visit there, we saw that some pilgrims prostrating every few feet, and some walking slowly, chanting sacred mantras and spinning hand-held prayer wheels. Sera Monastery is the representative monastery of the Gelugpa of the Tibetan Buddhism. The Barkhor Street is wonderful place for shopping. Our last stop at Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital, we got to know, for the first time, that human body is based on "five cosmic energies" - space, air, fire, water, earth, and the biological intermediaries of them are "three humors" - wind, bile and phlegm, which govern the functions of the body. Each of the three is a energy or force, circulating through different channels, organs, tissues.

On the last day morning, we slept until 10 o’clock, had a breakfast at the hotel, and went to the Barkhor Street to buy some souvenirs for my family and friend. I have also walked around the Jokhang temple on my own to enjoy the Tibetan flavor again since our flight leaving for Beijing was at around 16:00.