Maitreya at Two Scales in Tashilhunpo
At Tashilhunpo, a Maitreya Hall beside the assembly hall and a 30-metre Great Maitreya Hall to the west give the monastery’s architecture two distinct scales.
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Shigatse
31 articles
Zashilhunpo, a Monastery Shaped by Successive Generations
Founded in 1447 and later expanded, Zashilhunpo’s halls and teaching colleges record a history built through successive generations rather than a single act of construction.
Rooflines and Courtyards at Shalu
Shalu’s projecting east wing, central assembly hall and courtyard plan bring Tibetan and Chinese architectural elements together in one layered monastery.
Murals and Conservation at Shalu
A Palace Museum project connected Shalu Monastery’s painted corridors with architectural study, emergency repairs and a digital record of three mural groups.
When Sakya Objects Enter a Museum Gallery
A 2026 Palace Museum exhibition arranged objects linked to Sakya across four themes, pairing the monastery’s history with manuscripts, ritual objects and signs of political exchange.
Phagpa, Sakya, and a Meeting at Liangzhou
A Palace Museum account places Sakya Pandita and his nephew Phagpa at a 13th-century meeting with the Mongol prince Köden, offering a view of how a monastic lineage entered a wider political world.
A Family Line, a Monastery, and the Education of Phagpa
Sakya Monastery’s 1073 founding and Phagpa’s childhood within the Khön family show how religious learning and lineage shaped a centre of Tibetan Buddhist life.
A Library Built into the Hall
At Sakya Monastery, books are part of the architecture’s history: collections were moved during repairs, while later conservation work turned page-by-page scanning into another way of caring for them.
The Grey, Red and White Walls of Sakya
At Sakya Monastery, colour belongs to a carefully ordered complex: halls, monks’ quarters, walls and watchtowers shape a fortress-like religious landscape on Benbo Mountain.
Fields Along the Nyangchu: Barley and New Tools
A report from Gyantse follows barley farming through a thawing field, drone sowing and sensor-guided irrigation, showing how new tools enter the seasonal work of the Nyangchu Valley.
A Barley Season in Gyantse
A reported spring sowing beside the Nyangchu and an autumn harvest trace the seasonal rhythm of barley farming in Gyantse, while one farmer’s story keeps the account grounded in a particular place.
The Pala Manor and Estate Life
The rooms of Pala Manor and the compound opposite it preserve an architectural record of social hierarchy in Gyantse before 1959.