A brief introduction to drepung monastery's tourism strategy

Located in Lhasa, drepung monastery is an ancient temple with a history of 600 years. It is also one of the local yellow temples. Known as the holy land of Buddhism, it has a very high status. Now it is also a tourist attraction, attracting many tourists from all over the world.

Drepung monastery is the largest temple in the world, and it is gelug sect monasteries, a Tibetan Buddhism in China. Drepung monastery, in Tibetan, means "Duimisi" or "Jimimisi", which means "If you are lucky, you will win the country.". Together with Gandan Temple and Sera Temple, it is also known as the three major temples in Lhasa, and it is known as the largest temple in the world. It is located at the foot of Gengpiwuzi Mountain in the western suburbs of Lhasa.

1962 drepung monastery was listed as a key cultural relics protection unit in Xizang Autonomous Region, and 1982 was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

As many temples are closed in the afternoon, pilgrims should go in the morning. From the city to the temple, you can take a bus or take a taxi.

It costs twenty to thirty yuan to take a taxi. The bus only goes to the foot of the mountain, and it takes about half an hour to walk up the mountain by itself, but sometimes you can find tractors or big trucks to ride up the mountain.

There are many buildings in drepung monastery, among which the famous ones are "Gandanpo Chapter" and "Cuoqin Hall", that is, four "Zhacang" and their affiliated Kangcun. There is no vegetation around the temple, which is a barren hill of sand and gravel, but there are several wooded yards in the temple.

This is the debate field in drepung monastery. Each Zhacang (monastery) has two such debate venues.

There are many rituals in drepung monastery, and corresponding rituals are held every month on auspicious days such as large-scale Buddhist memorial day and cloudy days in Tibetan calendar (that is, 15th and 30th). There are also some activities celebrated with monks and customs, among which the biggest scene is the "Zhebang Snowdon Festival".

"Snow Festival" means "Yogurt Banquet" in Tibetan, which was originally a purely religious activity. According to Buddhist laws and regulations, monks are forbidden to go out for dozens of days in summer until the system is dissolved.

On the day of lifting the ban, secular people gave alms with yogurt. Later, the content of "Xuedun" became richer, and the scale of religious activities and entertainment activities continued to expand.

On the day of the "Snowton Festival" on June 30th in Tibetan calendar, a huge Buddha Thangka was first exhibited in the early morning with drepung monastery as the center, and then a Tibetan opera performance was held. It was really an interesting festival with not enough.

The Snowdon Festival is the biggest religious festival in drepung monastery and one of the biggest festivals in Lhasa.

The annual Sun Buddha Festival is the busiest time in drepung monastery. The mountains near drepung monastery are crowded with devout believers, and tourists who come here to watch the spectacular scenes can be seen everywhere. Weisang and Zhanfo pushed the festival to a climax.

Every year on June 30th in Tibetan calendar, young monks will greet the giant Thangka from Dajingtang Hall in drepung monastery and carry it to Qinlangri (Daxiangshan) in the west side by side. The procession to welcome the giant Thangka was guided by a special monk, Dade, holding incense sticks and reading the Baptism Sutra.

Religious monks and lay people from all over Tibetan areas went to worship the huge Thangka, and the scene was very lively and spectacular. In addition to the exhibition of Buddhism, Tibetan opera performances, watching Tibetan operas, people visiting gardens, yak competitions and equestrian performances are also the main contents of the festival.

I heard that many people left for drepung monastery and Sera Temple at two or three in the morning, and even stayed in hotels near the temple the night before, just to occupy a better place to see the Buddha.