Sichuan-Tibet Highway Self-Driving Tour (18) Typical Tibetan Garden - Norbulingka.

Sichuan-Tibet Highway Self-Driving Tour (18) Typical Tibetan Garden - Norbulingka Lhasa, Tibet September 16, 2024 We arrived in Lhasa this afternoon and went to Norbulingka for a visit. The reviews of Norbulingka on the Internet and from other travelers are mixed, but we felt it was good after visiting it in person. It can be described as the "royal garden" of Tibet. We have seen many gardens in various styles in the north and south, and this is the first time we have seen a Tibetan garden. It is worth a visit. Norbulingka (4A) means "treasure" in Tibetan. It is now a public park, a World Cultural Heritage site, and a national key cultural relic protection unit. It was built in the 1740s (the 7th Dalai Lama) and is the "summer palace" of the Dalai Lamas. It is a typical Tibetan-style garden (Figure 1). After more than 200 years of expansion, it covers an area of 360,000 square meters. There are more than 100 kinds of plants in the garden, including many precious trees, strange flowers and plants. It can be called a plateau botanical garden. Green, red, and yellow are the three basic colors of Tibetan gardens. The main body of the garden is "Pozhang" (Tibetan for palace), hidden in dense trees. The main palaces are: Gesang Pozhang (Figure 2), built by the 7th Dalai Lama, is one of the earliest palaces in Norbulingka (Figure 3); Golden Pozhang (Figure 4), built in 1922 for the 13th Dalai Lama, is an outstanding Tibetan-style building known for its exquisite carving art (Figure 5); Datan Mingjiu Pozhang (Figure 6), built by the central government in 1954 for the Dalai Lama, is the last palace in the garden, the most magnificent and elegant, with a small and exquisite back garden (Figure 7). In addition to the above-mentioned Pozhang, there are also Gesang Deji Pozhang (Figure 8), Xiadian Lakang (Figure 9, "Lakang" in Tibetan means Buddha Hall) and other buildings. There are a total of 374 rooms in the garden, which contain many pictures, murals, utensils and other cultural relics (only for viewing, no photography allowed). It is the largest, most beautiful, and most historic garden in Tibet. Norbulingka has four gates, and the east gate is the main gate. The parking lot is a few hundred meters away from the main gate. There are not many tourists in the garden today, and it is quiet and orderly. The area is not small, and it is a bit confusing for newcomers. Fortunately, the "tour route" signs in the garden are clear at a glance, and you can visit the whole garden without missing anything according to the signs. The visit usually takes 1.5-2 hours.