"Jiangsu Province Tourism Map" 11 weeks of my travel story is not about Tibet but better than Tibet. This is Nine Colors Shambhala Gannan

Jiangsu Province Tourism Map

What I wrote before

Gannan, as early as five years ago, I read a travelogue about Gannan and was compared to Tibet’s Attracted by the cultural scenery and grasslands and mountains that are not even found in Tibet. This yearning is like a seed planted in the heart, breaking out of the ground, sprouting, and growing into a towering tree. This time, I finally had the opportunity to set foot on Shambhala. I don’t know those people prostrate on the ground with their faith, the smell of butter in the Buddhist temple, the cattle and sheep running on the grassland, the snow-capped mountains reflected in the holy lake, the five children in the snow quietly falling in the early morning, the Milky Way rising on the grassland, and A group of friends who can cry and laugh together.

The beauty of Gannan is world-class: it was rated as "one of the top 50 outdoor paradises in the world" by an authoritative American travel magazine; it was rated as "China's most beautiful tourist destination" by the United Nations Council for the Promotion of Human Settlements. With the longing for Gannan, I set off. Shambhala, which has appeared in my dreams countless times, I am finally going to see you.

Beautiful Picture Preview

Day1: Lanzhou-Xiahe-Labrang Monastery Explanation-Gongtang Pagoda

Labrang Monastery-the most important symbol of Tibetan Buddhism Tsinghua University and Peking University

The Tibetan translation of Labrang Monastery is "the private room of the great lama". There are two types of monasteries in Tibet: Buddhist temples and academic palaces. Labrang Monastery is an academic temple and the highest Tibetan research institution in the world. It is called Labrang Monastery and is a Tibetan institution in the world. Buleng Temple has a history of more than 300 years. It was built during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. There are currently 6 colleges and 18 Buddhist temples.

Stayed for three nights in a Tibetan inn next to Labrang Monastery. After our trip every day, or early in the morning, we always go to Labrang Monastery to spend an hour or two. In the morning, Labrang Monastery was busier than expected. In the morning mist, smoke curled up from the hall, and we walked to the longest prayer corridor in the world. Many Tibetans have been walking around the temple, chanting the six-character mantra, with a strong wind under their feet, just to take one more turn. Occasionally you can see people kowtow. Every step they take and every head they kowtow are supported by faith. Sometimes, I just sit on the edge of the corridor, basking in the sunshine of southern Gansu, watching people coming and going, turning over scriptures, and my thoughts wander to nowhere.

In the evening, at Labrang Monastery, the lamas finished their day of study and gathered in the square to debate scriptures. Debating is a learning method in Tibetan Buddhism and an examination system. Studying Buddhism through sutra debate is a traditional feature of Tibetan Buddhism. Before the debate begins, all the colleges will declare war in the square as if it were a provocation. Although I couldn't understand what they were saying, I felt that this scene had not changed or sighed in three hundred years. After the debate began, the lamas held a heated discussion in groups, clapping their hands and stamping their feet from time to time, as if provocative or excited.

Butter sculptures, various artistic images made of butter, have high artistic level and unique artistic style. Together with thangkas and murals, it is known as the "three wonders" of Tibetan Buddhist art. The butter carving art of Labrang Monastery is even more famous. It started in 1768 and has a history of 250 years. Every year, each college produces butter sculptures to participate in the competition to choose the king of butter sculptures.

After the competition, the butter sculpture will be enshrined in the main hall, and the Butter King sculpture will be placed in the center of the main hall. In Labrang Monastery, photography is prohibited in almost all temples. Only this butter sculpture temple is allowed to take pictures, you can see these beautiful butter sculptures up close. Looking closely at the delicacy of the butter sculptures, the gradations of color, the folds of the flowers, and the way they come to life amaze us. The Butter Festival of Buleng Temple is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year. The lamas of each school will make butter sculptures one or two months in advance. In the harsh winter, lamas shape these butter sculptures with their bare hands, which is also a unique way of doing things.

Gongtang Pagoda - a special existence in Labrang Temple

In Labrang Temple, what you can always see when you look up is the gilded Gongtang Pagoda. Gongtang Pagoda is located in the southwest corner of Labrang Monastery. It was originally known as the Great Golden Pagoda of Knottok. It is famous at home and abroad because it houses the statue of Infinite Light Buddha (Amitabha) brought from Nepal.

The plaque "Buddha's light shines everywhere" originally hung at the entrance of the Gongtang Pagoda was given by Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty in 1806. Due to the ten-year catastrophe, the Gongtang Pagoda, the plaque and many precious cultural relics were destroyed. After the original site of the Gongtang Pagoda was rebuilt, the plaque we see now was newly made by the Lanzhou Signboard Factory.

The Gongtang Pagoda is five stories high and consists of three parts: the pagoda, the pagoda vase and the pagoda base. The pagoda is a dazzling sun, moon and stars. The pagoda vase is made of fine copper relief and gilded with eight Bodhisattvas. The pagoda base is a three-story, four-cornered building decorated with glazed tiles. The first floor is surrounded by copper prayer wheels.

Climbing to the top of the Gongtang Pagoda, you can overlook the entire Labrang Monastery. The Daxia River flows in front of the Labrang Monastery, and the Tsongkhapa Buddha Hall, the Tibetan Sutra Hall, and the Wensi College are in the distance. Everybody can see clearly. Across the Daxia River, the Buddha-showing platform on the opposite mountain is also clearly visible. During the Buddha-showing Festival every year, the perspective here should be the best.

Day2: Thangka Town-Labrang Congla Market-Sangke Grassland-Starry Sky Shooting

Thangka Town-Knocking on the blackboard to popularize Thangka knowledge points

Thangka is a unique painting art form in Tibetan culture. It is known as the "Encyclopedia" of Tibet and is also a precious intangible cultural heritage in the folk art of the Chinese nation. The creation process of folk thangka is very particular. It involves more than a dozen processes, including pre-painting ceremony, canvas preparation, positioning and drafting, coloring, line drawing, gold tracing, eye opening, sewing, mounting and lighting. It takes more than ten days to draw a simple thangka, and several years for a complex one.

Relying on the endowment of Labrang cultural resources, Xiahe County has built Labrang Thangka Town in China, which is a base for display and experience of Thangka art, inheritance and training base, creation and sales base . There are currently dozens of companies and studios in Thangka Town. Famous painters include Thangka national representative inheritors Shirebu and Jiaoba Gyabu, as well as Thangka craftsmen Tenzin and Gayang Sonam. Their thangka works have a large number of fans and collectors in Tibetan areas such as Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Tibet, as well as in developed cities in China.

Thangkas are generally divided into four types according to hand-painted Thangkas, namely: red Thangka, black Thangka, gold Thangka and colored Thangka. Black thangka is a thangka with a red background and is painted on a black canvas, usually with serious content; red thangka also refers to a thangka with red as the background color; colorful thangka is a white background with colorful content. The most common kind of Thangka; the Golden Thangka is the most precious. It is usually covered with gold foil and carved line by line with an agate pen. The effort and skill required are unmatched by other Thangkas.

Congla Market-Yiwu Small Commodity Market in Labrang Monastery

"Congla" is a Tibetan word, which means the market, commodity distribution center, and commodity distribution center near the temple. It is said to have arisen due to the establishment and development of Buddhist temples, and it assumes the market functions of commodity exchange and material distribution. Because Xiahe County is located at the transportation hub of Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces and is influenced by the religion of Labrang Monastery, it has historically been a famous material exchange distribution center and one of the centers of ethnic trade in the Amdo Tibetan area. Labrang Congla Quite prestigious.

While walking around the Congla Market, I saw a lot of people gathering together. When I looked closer, I saw that they were cleaning the cordyceps that had just been harvested, and then sorting and packaging them according to their sizes. There was a courier company not far away. , many people who buy Cordyceps are gathered here, waiting to get the first-hand supply. In the Chinese medicine market in the mainland, such precious Cordyceps can be caught in large quantities in the Congla market, which makes us mainland tourists dumbfounded.

In addition to the precious Cordyceps, Congla Market also has exquisite gold and silver jewelry, bronzes, religious and household items, ethnic costumes, Thangkas and other ethnic handicrafts, as well as Tibetan food, Tibetan bars and other ethnic specialties. Entertainment shops are also everywhere. Today’s Labrang Congla Commodity Street is one of the highlights of Xiahe tourism. Tourists visiting Xiahe can always find a few favorite little things to take back at Congla Market.

Sangke Grassland - Encountered the Windows Desktop Wallpaper

Sangke Grassland is located in Sangke Township, Xiahe County, 10 kilometers away from the county seat, and is part of Dajiutan Grassland in Sangke Township , the average altitude of the grassland is 3,000 meters, the grassland area reaches 70 square kilometers, the entire grassland is flat, and it is the main animal husbandry base of Gannan Prefecture. When our car was traveling through the Sanke grassland, the scenery outside the window was exactly the same as the screensaver when Windows was started. The blue sky, with a few mischievous clouds floating by from time to time, passed by streams and puddles, and groups of sheep dotted the green grassland. With luck, we met a group of sheep crossing the road, so Parking, getting off the car, and taking photos are all done in one go.

I have always been looking forward to the starry sky in Gannan. I observed it all the way during the day. Where to take photos of the starry sky at night with less light pollution. Finally, we locked in on the Sangke Qiongzetan viewing platform, several yurts on the top of the mountain and The conch sculpture became the foreground of our starry sky photos. The temperature in Xiahe was very low in the middle of the night. The few hours we spent waiting on the top of the mountain just passed by chatting and laughing. I still remember watching the stars in the sky and the shooting stars visible to the naked eye from the top of the mountain without light pollution. When we arrived at the two stars, a car drove up in the distance and we started to make a fuss for a while, discussing whether the film was over or not... and finally bored to the point of singing karaoke on the top of the mountain.

Day3: Ganjia Bajiao City-Labrang Jingdong Gannan Pavilion-Dalzong Lake

Bajiao Ancient City-a defensive city with no dead ends

Bajiao Ancient City, Located on the eastern platform of Ganga Grassland. The ancient city broke the convention of square layout of urban buildings at home and abroad, and built the city in a "hollow cross shape". Since there is a pier in each of the eight directions protruding outward, the city has 8 corners and 36 faces. Due to its shape, Tibetan literature calls it "Kar Yongzhong City", which means "_" character city. Because of its unique architectural structure, when the enemy attacks, only one person can enter at a time, and they cannot ride horses. It is a very representative city that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Local residents say word of mouth that the city was built in the Western Xia Dynasty. Archaeologists consulted documents and said that Yongzhong City was formed in the Western Han Dynasty.

Bajiao Ancient City is backed by Daliga Mountain. Dariga Mountain is located at the junction of Xiahe County, Gansu Province and Xunhua County, Qinghai Province. The main peak is 4,635 meters above sea level. It is flanked by Ganjia Grassland to the south and Jishi Mountain to the north. Relying on such a majestic Dariga Mountain, the geographical advantage of Bajiao Ancient City is really good.