Labrang Temple to get face-lift
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E-mail China Daily, March 21, 2012
A 303-year-old temple in Gansu province, a leading school of Tibetan Lamaism, will receive 300 million yuan ($47.4 million) from the government over the next five years for renovation.
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Labrang Temple [file photo] |
Labrang Temple, located in the west of Xiahe county, in the Gannan Tibet autonomous prefecture, was built by Jiamuyang, the first Living Buddha, in 1709. One of the six major monasteries of the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, the temple was known as the "Vatican of the Orient".
Labrang, in the Tibetan language, means "Palace for the Buddha". The temple occupies a large architectural complex just smaller in size than the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It houses more than 30,000 Buddha statues, 65,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures, a rich collection of sutras, murals, Tibetan books and, of course, numerous monks in residence.
The temple is in urgent need of repair due to subsidence.
Architectural and cultural treasures have been damaged and conditions for the monks have deteriorated, said Suonanjia, deputy director in charge of cultural affairs in Xiahe county.
Gansu provincial and Xiahe county authorities will make "no alteration to the original relics" and use traditional craftsmanship and original materials, he said.
"We will be prudent. We can't mend everything at once."
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