2024 Hainan-Tibet-Xinjiang Self-Driving Tour: Day 10 Visit Qamdo Qamdo Qamdo Temple

The city of Qamdo is divided into several areas by Zhaqu, Angqu and Lancang River. There is only one attraction worth visiting in the city: [Qiangba Ling Monastery], so I finally chose to live near the Tea Horse Square, so that the distance to walk in the morning is less than 1 kilometer. Ken had a hard time driving, so I went for a walk alone in the morning. The buildings in the city are also densely packed and give off an oppressive feeling (Figure 2). It may seem like a short distance, but you have to climb a hill. Once you climb a hill, your heart rate goes up and you have to slow down. On the way, we passed the first police station in Tibet: Zhongxinba Police Station (Figure 3).

Near the entrance of Qambaling Monastery, many local people waiting for the bus were sitting on the roadside flower beds (Figure 4). There are shops on both sides of the temple entrance. What is more attractive than the shops are the banners above. Education on loving the Party must be internalized into the mind, heart and soul. When I walked to the main entrance (Figure 5) and wanted to take a picture of the door without people and cars, I found that it was almost impossible because there was so much traffic. As I walked through the gate, the circular floor plan diagram (Figure 8) on the left-hand wall caught my eye.

Due to limited time in the morning, I quickly took pictures of the three large buildings facing the Balin Temple Square: Xiangbalakang, Jikuo Lakang and Gelong Zhacang (Figure 9). To the left of these three buildings is Deqiu Dratsang. In the lobby on the first floor of the building, many people are kowtowing towards the direction of the Tsokchen Hall opposite. A red slogan was hung above Deqiu Dratsang: Become a monk but do not forget to love your country; practice Buddhism but do not forget to help the world.

To the right of the three buildings is the Tsokchen Hall (Figure 10), from which can be heard the sounds of many lamas chanting. As soon as you enter the gate, you can see lamas constantly coming out of the Cochin Hall carrying buckets, in groups of three or four, chatting and laughing (Figure 11). Once they find tourists taking pictures of them, their expressions immediately become serious.

The sound of chanting was so loud that I couldn't help but walk in to take a look. I estimated that there were at least 14 or 15 vertical rows from left to right in the entire hall, with about 20 to 30 lamas sitting in each row, but I didn't count them specifically. There is a lama sitting in each vertical row near the entrance. People who come in to worship will give 10 yuan, 20 yuan or 50 yuan to the lama sitting in the front row, and the lama will write something on paper. I stood against the wall, hoping to be considered invisible, secretly recorded a short video, and quickly slipped away.

Walking out of the Tsokchen Hall, the walls of the surrounding buildings are littered with shoes taken off by the lamas. Just as I was about to take a picture of a pair of shoes, a thin lama came from the left with very light steps (Figure 15).

I wanted to continue strolling, but Ken called and I had to rush back to the hotel to pack my things because I had to go to see the sky temple - [Zizhu Temple] at an altitude of 4,500 meters this afternoon.

Post by Stella_Butler37 | Aug 26, 2024