Shigatse (Tibet)

Tashilhunpo monastery:

The Tashilhunpo monastery was built in Shigatse in 1447 and is one of the 6 large Gelug institutions. The monastery is located on a hill in the city and the name means in Tibetan literally "all happiness and prosperity are collected here". The monastery is the traditional seat of the pänchen lama, the second tulku line within the gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

It is an important destination for pilgrims in Tibet. The monastery was originally built by Gendün Drub, the first Dalai Lama and financed by the local nobility. Later the monastery was greatly expanded by Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, the 4th pänchen lama. Since then it has become the seat for the pänchen lamas. Gyancain Norbu, who according to the Chinese government is the 11th pänchen lama, lives here. Once there lived some 6000 monks - now only 600.

Besides the gigantic large statue of Buddha (almost 27 meters high) in the temple of Maitreya, the temple is also famous for its large Hall which is the tomb of the 4th Panchen Lama retains. This would contain about 85kg of gold and a multitude of jewels. The monastery can be reached via three steep stairs. The left staircase is for entering the temple, the middle staircase for the pänchen lama and dalai lama and the right staircase is for leaving the temple. Tashilhunpo has been on the list of cultural heritage sites in the Tibet Autonomous Region since 1961. 

Other attractions:

• The Shigatse fort (north of the old town).

The present city of Shigatse developed at the foot of the old Samdrubtse fortress which was rebuilt in 1363 and to which the city was initially named. Until the 20th century, the city was often called Shigatse Dzong. Until the mid-17th century, Shigatse was the seat of the kings of Tsang, who ruled over large parts of Tibet including Lhasa over a longer period of time.

When in the first half of the 17th century, with the help of the Mongolians from Amdo, the gelug-orde managed to reduce that dominion, the fifth Dalai Lama became the ruler of Tibet in 1642. The Dalai Lama then had the Potala built, with the Samdrubtse from Shigatse as an example. In beauty and size, however, the Potala clearly outperforms it. In 1788 and 1791, the city and the monastery were attacked and pillaged by gurkhas wandering from Nepal.

These two invasions were reason for the Chinese emperor Qianlong to intervene militarily and to expand control mechanisms over Tibet. In 1950 Samgrubtse was destroyed. Between 2005 and 2007 the fortress with money from Shanghai was reconstructed. Old photos were used as a basis for reconstruction, although the walls of the current version are built of cement or concrete, which are adorned only with natural stone.