Tibet is such a beautiful city full of culture and history. Jokhang Temple is regarded as the most sacred temple for many Tibetans and a must see for visitors. Jokhang Temple, situated in the centre of the old section of Lhasa called Barkhor, was built in the mid-7th century A. D .Its beauty is famous and talked about all over China, so why don’t you book your China Flights and Travel to Tibet to experience this amazing piece of history, religion and architecture.
The story behind the creation of the temple stems back to time where King Songtsem Gampo was the king of Tibet. He promoted Buddhism in Tibet and his leadership style encouraged innovation within the city and in order to build friendly relationships with bordering countries he married Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty. The wives bought a statue of Buddha when they first came to Tibet and the king built a little Jokhang to house the Buddha from Princess Wen Cheng. The other wife got jealous and also requested the king to build somewhere for her Buddha statue to live, and so a giant complex was built.
The legend behind the creation of the temple was that it was created several times but every time the temple fell down. The Jokhang temple is erected in the center of the ground which used to be a lake. The lake was chosen to build the temple by Princess Wen Cheng because she pointed out that the topography of the city was not very conducive to construction due to the presence of lake. She advised that the lake should be filled and levelled up. It is stated that more than 1000 sheep’s were used to bring soil from a distant mountain. After the temple was built, it came to be known as Ra-Sa- Vphrul Snang. In Tibetan language, ‘Ra’ means sheep and ‘Sa’ means earth. The city around the temple was also was called Ra-Sa, which now is known as Lhasa.
The construction of the temple is simply amazing. It is four storeys high, with a golden roof. The architectural style is based on the Indian vihara design, and it was later extended to form a mixture between Nepalese and Tang Dynasty styles. The interior of the temple is dark and filled with heavily scented candles. The entire temple complex occupies approximately 25,000 square meters. The temple houses many historical relics, including statues of King Songtsen Gompo, Princess Wencheng, Princess Bhrikuti Devi (Nepalese), “Princess Willow” (a tree), and “The Uncle-Nephew Alliance Tablet.”
All in all Jokhang Temple is a wonderful place to visit on your Tibet Tours, it is a must see spot and you will learn so much from visiting. It has become such a famous tourist attraction that it is busy all year round, along with the pilgrims that visit it daily throughout the year.
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