Jokhang Temple

Jokhang Temple is located in the center of the old town of Lhasa and has a history of 1350 years. According to legend, the site of Jokhang Temple was originally a lake. Songtsen Gampo once promised Princess Chizun by the lake that he would build a Buddhist hall where the ring fell. Unexpectedly, the ring fell into the lake, and the surface of the lake was immediately covered with a net of light, in which a nine-tiered white pagoda appeared. Thus, a grand project of building the temple with a thousand white sheep carrying soil began. Jokhang Temple took more than three years to build. In Tibetan, 'sheep' is called 're' and 'soil' is called 'sa'. To commemorate the contribution of the white sheep, the Buddhist hall was initially named 'Resa', later changed to 'Tsulagkhang' (scripture hall), also known as 'Jokhang' (Buddha hall). The full name is 'Resa Gashitrinang Tsulagkhang', meaning built by sheep carrying soil. The name 'Jokhang' is said to be related to the 'Great Prayer Festival' that began in the 15th century. Jokhang Temple is the most magnificent building from the Tubo period existing in Tibet and is also the earliest timber structure building in Tibet. It pioneered the Tibetan flatland-style temple city layout. After multiple repairs and expansions over the generations, it has now formed a grand scale covering more than 25,100 square meters. Jokhang Temple is not only a hall where many Buddha statues and sacred objects are enshrined for worship by believers, but it is also a three-dimensional and real representation of the ideal model of the universe in Buddhism—the Mandala. In front of the main entrance of Jokhang Temple, there are three stone pillars. On one of the stone pillars, the Tang-Tubo Alliance Treaty signed in 823 AD is inscribed in both Chinese and Tibetan. Jokhang Temple was first built in 647 AD by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo to commemorate Princess Chizun's arrival in Tibet. After generations of repairs and expansions, it has formed a large architectural complex. The temple covers an area of more than 25,100 square meters and has more than 20 halls. The main hall is four stories high with a gilded bronze roof, magnificent and spectacular, featuring Tang Dynasty architectural style while also incorporating Nepalese and Indian architectural art. In the center of the main hall is a life-size gilded bronze statue of Sakyamuni at the age of 12, brought by Princess Wencheng from Chang'an. The side halls enshrine statues of Songtsen Gampo, Princess Wencheng, and Nepalese Princess Chizun.