Getting to Gyantse: the beating heart of Tibet

Gyantse and the Kumbum are the beating heart of Tibet and Tibetan culture. We visited Gyantse on a three-day trip by mini-van that also included Shalu monastery and the town of Shigatse. We reached Gyantse after a long eight-hour ride, made even longer by our detour to see Yamdrok-Tso Lake.

Yamdrok-Tso Lake Tibet — Yamdrok-Tso Lake

From the Kamba-La Pass at 4794 metres, there are spectacular views over the turquoise waters of the lake. However, due to road works (expected to be finished next year), it wasn’t possible to continue along the old road to Gyantse, so we had to turn back and rejoin the new road.

The final part of the journey took us through fertile and idyllic fields, full of grazing animals and harvesting farmers.

Countyside Tibet — Rural scenery near Gyantse

Approaching Gyantse and seeing the Fort

The approach to Gyantse is truly spectacular: the ruins of the fortress, the Dzong, destroyed by Younghusband and his British troops, set on a steep, rocky hill, stand out against the azure sky and the golden roofs of the monastery gleam in the sun.

Gyantse fort Tibet — Gyantse Fort in the late afternoon

Gyantse itself is rather more prosaic; it is basically a scruffy one-street town (2007: has expanded now) with an interesting, traditional Tibetan quarter.

We had just enough time to visit the Pelkhor Chöde Monastery complex, situated dramatically at the foot of the barren mountains and surrounded by a brown wall.

The Kumbum

Gyantse’s highlight is the Kumbum, an 8 storey chorten, topped by a golden roof and umbrella, apparently the best- preserved structure of this kind in Tibet.

The 8 floors contain 108 chapels, all covered in frescoes and many holding statues. The outside is painted a dazzling white and decorated with colourful stucco, as well as four huge pairs of eyes, which survey the surrounding countryside.

Though most of the frescoes are hidden in darkness and many are damaged, we managed to make out some frightening demons, adorned with necklaces of skulls, fine many-armed Buddhas and delicate maidens.

The chapels which are set at the corners are the best, as they are two storeys’ high and contain a variety of large statues.

On the sixth floor we emerged onto an open platform, level with the painted eyes, from which we could observe the other monastic buildings, the walls, the mountains, as well as the Tibetan old town.

Gyantse Fort

The next day we visited the old fortress, or Dzong, and explored the Tibetan quarter.

As we mentioned before, most of the Dzong is in ruins; thanks to Younghusband and his men who came riding in from Sikkim to ‘open’ Tibet to trade… They are, however, quite atmospheric ruins. One of the highlights is a grey memorial stone with the curious inscription ‘Jump off the cliff’.

jump off the cliff! — Directions or an order?

However, this isn’t an exhortation to visitors, but rather a commemoration of an act of bravery committed by the outnumbered defenders.

Gyantse Old Town

The old Tibetan quarter, lying at the foot of the fortress, is another gem that takes you right back in time.

Cows in the streets of gyantse — *Gyantse Old Town*

Along the main street, there are placid cows chewing the cud in front of every household, while pigs and sheep rummage around in the gutters.

People gather at the communal pumps to draw water, wash their clothes, hair or rinse dyed strings of sheep’s wool.

Gyantse Old Town people and cows — *Gyantse Old Town*

Inside the traditional stone houses, Tibetan ladies work the heavy wooden looms to weave cloth or colourful Tibetan carpets.

weaver in Gyantse tibet — *Gyantse Old Town*

A peaceful, mellow village ambience reigns and life continues, unhurriedly, as it always has done.

Gyantse Practicalities:

Accommodation:

The Kumbum Gyantse Tibet and Gyanstse Monastary

We stayed at the Jianzang hotel which lies on the main street of the modern part of town (Yingxiong Nanlu) and is certainly one of the nicest places we stayed at in the whole of Tibet, or even China. The hotel is embellished with bright, colourful murals and lovely potted plants and flowers, while rooms are large, clean and comfy. We paid 180 Yuan for a double with bathroom, though there were cheaper rooms and dorms as well. The hotel also has its own rooftop restaurant and staff are very friendly.

Food:

You will have no trouble finding several places to eat along the same main street. The Yak bar and restaurant, for which you have to go upstairs, is a pleasant, laid-back place with Tibetan sofas and low tables, specialising in western-style food such as chips, pizzas and burgers. There is a large Chinese restaurant, a few doors away and identified by a green sign, where we had an excellent meal.

Visit Shalu Monastery near Gyantse: Click here

Shalu Monastery夏鲁寺: August 2007

paintings on the walls of Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Amazing flaying Murals in Shalu Monastery Tibet

The Shalu Monastery in Tibet is a fantastic example of Tibetan Culture. The murals on the walls are spectacular and the surrounding village is 100% Tibetan.

From our Diary

We visited the monastery of Shalu 夏鲁寺 on the second day of our excursion, as a side trip on the way from Gyantse to Shigatse. Shalu was actually off limits to foreigners and we didn’t have it listed on our permit. Our excursion was a spur of the moment decision.

However, our Tibetan driver nonchantly said there would be no problem. And hey this was 2007! Travelling in Tibet was hassle free and foreigners could drop into almost anywhere they wanted.

chapal Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Inside Shalu Monastery

The talk among travellers in China in 2007 was that very soon foreigners wouldn’t need permits to travel around Tibet anymore; such was the optimism due to the up and coming Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Little did people know that within a few months, all the good intentions the Chinese authorities had about opening up Tibet would be shattered by the riots in Lhasa and Tibet closed to foreigners for quite a while. Even now (2019), Tibet is still nowhere near as open as it was back then in 2007.

countryside around Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — The village of Shalu Tibet

Getting to Shalu Monastery

About 20 kilometres before Shigatse, our van turned left off the main road and went onto a bumpy track full of potholes and puddles.

We passed sturdy farmhouses, some of them still under construction, and large fields full of grazing yaks. Wheat grew everywhere and the whole area looked quite prosperous.

Shalu Monastery History

The monastery of Shalu was the seat of the Bu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, named after its founder Buton Rinchendrub, a famous 14^th century scholar.

painted door Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Welome to Shalu Monastery

An earthquake in 1329 destroyed the original Shalu Monastery, However, Buton rebuilt the Monastery in 1333 under the patronage of the Chinese Mongolian emperor of the Yuan dynasty.

Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Shalu Monastery

Many Han Chinese artisans and Newari artists from Nepal participated in its reconstruction giving it its distinctive architectural style exemplified by the green-tiled arched roof and steep eaves of the central hall, the Shalu Lakhang.

Shalu Monastery’s Murals

Apart from the architecture and the many large statues of important religious figures, what mostly grabbed our attention were the incredible murals.

Like in Samye, the tall walls that go behind the main altar are covered from top to bottom by amazing paintings, dimly lit by an occasional light bulb.

Apart from the usual, slightly repetitive, Buddha figures, there are many exquisite and exotic scenes of a non-spiritual nature, such as caravans of distinctly Arabic-looking merchants leading camels, slim Indian-looking courtiers at play, or beautiful young ladies.

amzing paintings on the walls of Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Murals in *Shalu Monastery*

The murals in the side chapels, attributed to Nepali painters, mostly depict large elegant Buddhas in lotus position, demons and many-armed gods, surrounded by floral motifs. Given their shining state, they must have been retouched recently.

The Gruesome Murals

Not all the murals were so beneign. Gruesome scenes of animals and humans being flayed or disembowled also lined the walls.

gruesome paintings on the walls of Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Flaying *murals in Shalu Monastery*

During our exploration, friendly monks unlocked most of the smaller, side and upper storey chapels for us, allowing us to appreciate the treasures inside, such as ancient statues and thankas.

statue Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Statue in Shalu Monastery

The sight of all these precious objects and paintings, clearly venerated by the monks, gave us a real sense of ancient history and tradition.

library Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — The Library Shalu Monastery

The Library

The monks lead us into the library which is normally kept firmly under lock and key. The collection of manuscripts and scrolls at Shalu is huge and very important for Tibetan Buddhism. Then, as we came out of the library we bumped into a young German who was staying at the monastery studying Buddhism and learning Tibetan. How on earth did he manage to get a permit to do that in Shalu?

children Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Curious local kids Shalu village

Shalu Village

Shalu village is completely traditional as well, it’s a warren of towering white-washed houses, protected by walls and intersected by narrow muddy lanes.

street Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Muddy streets in Shalu village

Interestingly, while we were exploring, the Shigatse – Shalu bus, an old battered vehicle, turned up, showing us that this is another excursion you could easily do on your own.

locals washing clothes Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Locals washing clothes in Shalu village

Shalu Monastery has undergone restoration

The Chinese Government began the restoration of Shalu Monastery in 2009, two years after we visited.

Getting there and Away

We had hired a Car and driver in Lhasa to go to Gyanste and Shigatse. Shalu Village lies somewhere between the two towns. As mentioned above, we saw local buses from Shigastse arrivng in Shalu. The only problem will be permits, and whether under stricter control the authorites will turn a blind eye to foreigners visiting Shalu.

Accommodation:

The monks in Shalu told us that they had some guest rooms. However, we just visited on a day trip and stayed in Gyantse and Shigatse.

Gyantse Practicalities

gyanste and kumbum — Over view of Kumbun and Gyantse

In Gyantse we stayed at the Jianzang hotel which lies on the main street of the modern part of town (Yingxiong Nanlu) and is certainly one of the nicest places we stayed at in the whole of Tibet, or even China. Embellished with bright, colourful murals and lovely potted plants and flowers, the hotel also has large, clean and comfy rooms. We paid 180 Yuan for a double with bathroom, though there were cheaper rooms and dorms as well. The hotel also has its own rooftop restaurant and staff are very friendly.

children in Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺: Tibet — Adam being mobbed by kids in Shalu

Food:

You will have no trouble finding several places to eat along the same main street. The Yak bar and restaurant, for which you have to go upstairs, is a pleasant, laid-back place with Tibetan sofas and low tables, specialising in western-style food such as chips, pizzas and burgers. We decided to give the guidebook-recommended Zhuang Yuan a miss after one look at their menu, outraged at the idea of paying nearly 30 Yuan for a portion of chips.

gyantse fort from the fields — Gyantse Fort

Instead, we walked into a large Chinese restaurant, a few doors away and identified by a green sign, where we had an excellent meal.

Shigatse Practicalities

Shigatse monks watching a festival — *Monks At a festival in Shigatse*

We stayed at the Shigatse Post Hotel, a new-ish place (2007) right opposite the posh Shigatse Hotel, down Shanghai Lu. Painted and furnished in Tibetan style our double room came complete with thankas and white ceremonial scarves, all very bright and clean; good value for 180 Yuan.

shigatse monks at a festival — Monks At a festival in Shigatse

Going down Shanghai Lu towards the centre we found plenty of food, though restaurants were mostly of the simple, snack food variety. A ten-minute walk from the hotel will take you to the night market.

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