Ganden Monastery.
Monday 10th SeptemberThe Ganden Monastery stands proudly on a mountainside, 70km by road east of Lhasa at an altitude of 4,200 metres.
Before the Chinese invasion of 1959 it was home to 3,300 monks. During the cultural revolution in China, the monastery was badly damaged by the Red Guard. restoration has been underway for some time but is still not complete. Only 300 monks remain at the monastery today.
We drove along the wide valley floor, flanked by steeply rising grass-covered mountains on which yak and sheep were grazing. The road turned up the mountainside sharply and zig-zagged towards the monastery through about 50 hairpin bends. It was narrow, but well sealed.
Below the monastery an old man and some young boys were employed chasing the wandering yaks off the road using something very similar to a stock whip which they cracked with gusto and shouted at the unconcerned yak.
We arrived at the monastery and toured around the many buildings among the locals and tourists from afar. Our guide explained about the Buddhist faith as we went from temple to temple. Then a wonderful surprise, as we found ourselves in a temple with hundreds of monks who settled down for a session of chanting which was to last for two hours.
For Y20 (AU$3.30) we were allowed to take photographs of the monks, the statues and the interior decorations.
Before the Chinese invasion of 1959 it was home to 3,300 monks. During the cultural revolution in China, the monastery was badly damaged by the Red Guard. restoration has been underway for some time but is still not complete. Only 300 monks remain at the monastery today.
We drove along the wide valley floor, flanked by steeply rising grass-covered mountains on which yak and sheep were grazing. The road turned up the mountainside sharply and zig-zagged towards the monastery through about 50 hairpin bends. It was narrow, but well sealed.
Below the monastery an old man and some young boys were employed chasing the wandering yaks off the road using something very similar to a stock whip which they cracked with gusto and shouted at the unconcerned yak.
We arrived at the monastery and toured around the many buildings among the locals and tourists from afar. Our guide explained about the Buddhist faith as we went from temple to temple. Then a wonderful surprise, as we found ourselves in a temple with hundreds of monks who settled down for a session of chanting which was to last for two hours.
For Y20 (AU$3.30) we were allowed to take photographs of the monks, the statues and the interior decorations.
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