Tibetan Buddhist ceremonial thangka being unveiled at Ganden gompa monastery Tibetan Plateau Tibet China
The Ganden Thangka Festival is an important festival at the old Ganden Monastery that was the leading monastery of the Geluk tradition of Tibet. Every year, thousands of people circle the monastery ruins, enter inside to view the Buddhas, pray, and get blessed, and then they go outside to sit on the hill or try to get close to the wall where the big and vividly woven thangka is displayed. It is a major highlight of many Tibetan Buddhists’ year, and some poor people walk for weeks to get to the place before sunrise that day. The scenery is the area, combined with the site of thousands of people dressed traditionally, is amazing. The monastery is about 36 kilometers northeast of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Many people line up for buses after midnight in various places in Lhasa to arrive before sunrise. Hundreds of people first like to climb up a small nearby hill to watch the dawn. On such festive occasions, the pilgrims dress in their finest festival clothes. Also, they elaborately decorate their animals such as yaks, horses, and donkeys who are scattered around the monastery. The Ganden Monastery was built in 1409, and it was once the leading monastery of the three leading monasteries of the Geluk tradition. These monastaries were built in or near Lhasa that was once the city of the Dalai Lama. At its height in times past, thousands of monks lived there. During the Cultural Revolution, army artillery shelled the structure.
Size: 3944px × 2568px
Location: Ganden Gompa Tibetan Plateau Tibet Autonomous Region People's Republic of China
Photo credit: © Adrian Weston / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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