Norbulingka

The Norbulingka, literally Treasure Park, is the Summer Palace for the Dalai Lamas located in the western suburbs of Lhasa. The Norbulingka park was built in 1740's by the 7th Dalai Lama at the bank of Kyichu River about one kilometer southwest of the Potala Palace. Norbulingka is one of the national key cultural relics preservation and a nice destination to travel. The Norbulingka was built for the Dalai Lama to escape from the heat and run the region in summer. The area used to be the wilderness but the 7th Dalai Lama visited there very often, then the magistrate of Qing Dynasty built a small palace for him which became the prototype of the Norbulingka. After more than two hundred years of continuous construction by those successive Dalai Lama's, the Norbulingka covers an area of 360,000 square meters, with 374 rooms in total. It is the largest man-made garden in Tibet Autonomous Region.
Now the Norbulingka consists of a few of palace comlexes, each of them is divided into three sections inlcuing the palace section, the prelude of the palace and the garden. The main buildings in the Norbulingka are Kelsang Potrang, Golden Linka and Takten Migyur Potrang. This place was the headquarters for the Dalai Lama during the summer and the procession from the Potala to Norbulingka was a big event and a festive occasion. The 14th Dalai Lama built the New Palace in the north of Norbulingka as his residence and lived there until he escaped from Norbulingka to India in 1959. Inside the New Palace, there are lots of precious frescos which demonstrate the stories of Buddhism and the history and development of Tibet, as well as its relations with the central state. Norbulingka is now more than just palace but a park for the Tibetan people. Location: in the western suburb of Lhasa, Tibet Opening hours: 09:00-12:00 in the morning, 15: 00-16:00 in the afternoon Tickets: CNY 60  Contact number: +86 10 85968802

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