Tibet - Jokhang Temple

    Situated at the center of Barkhon Street of Lhasa City, in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Jokhang Temple (Temple of Sakyamuni in Tibetan language) was built in the mid-tenth century with a construction area of 25,000 square meter.
    Its 4-story hall is topped with a golden cupola. Mounting the cupola, the magnificent Potala Palace in the ancient city comes into clear focus. The distant Yaowang Mountain is lofty and fascinating.
    The Jokhang Temple has not only concentrated the essence of Tibetan architectural arts, but also adopted a great deal of architectural styles of the Han, such as beam supports, mortise and tenon bracketing, caisson ceiling. Through several additions and renovations, it became a grand group of buildings.
    The Jokhang Temple holds an extremely important position among the Tibetan monasteries, as all the grand religious rites are performed here. During the first month of Tibetan calendar, tens of thousands of lamas from various parts of Tibet gather in the Temple to worship Buddha and recite sutra.
    The Jokhang Temple is the symbol of religious authority as well as the center of Tibetan politics. In former days, it was the seat of the Tibetan government.
    A great amount of precious cultural relics are housed here. In the Grand Hall, enshrined is a gilded copper statue of Sakyamuni elaborately decorated, which is priceless national treasure. Also kept with great care is a gold Bumpa urn granted as a present by the Emperor Qianlong in 1792. The gold urn is used to keep the lots which will be drawn to decide upon the in carnation boy of Dalai Lama, when there are two or more candidates.
    The newly painted murals encompassing 2,600 square meters in the Monastery are a group of glorious historical pictures. They depict vividly the Jataka of Buddhism, the story of acquiring scriptures in the Western Heaven by the Tang monk and his disciples as well as Princess Wencheng crossing the snow-capped mountain on horse back.