Yambajan Contains the Greatest Number of Springs in China

More than 90 kilometers away from Lhasa, Yambajan is located to the northwest of downtown Lhasa at the foot of Nyaingentanglha Mountain. It covers an area of 15 kilometers. Snowy mountains, icebergs and the virgin forest surround it on both sides with attractive meadow in the middle of the basin.

Tibet is situated in a plateau and it contains the greatest number of hot springs in China. Yambajan is very famous for its springs which cover an area of 7000 square meters. Besides common springs, the springs here have the highest temperature, forming peculiar boiling springs and geysers.

The hot spring in Yambajan, which contains high content of sulfureted hydrogen, is therapeutic to many chronic diseases. The bathing place is an open-air swimming pool. The hot spring, the temperature of which is too high, needs to be cooled in two open-air cisterns before it is available for bathing. With the snow-capped mountains in the distance, it is really an enjoyment to have a hot-spring bath in the swimming pool. Especially in winter, it is very pleasant and romantic to enjoy the heavy snowfall by bathing in the hot spring.

The early morning in Yambajan is the most beautiful. In the cold morning, the hydrothermal fields are always suffused with white haze and the lake surface is always covered with great steam agglomerations, which is really fascinating and makes Yambajan a wonderland. If you are lucky enough, you may have a chance to witness the fantastic and splendid scene: the boiling water is erupting to the sky from the mouth of hot spring.

Since 1974, the Chinese government has considered the development of Yambajan an important technological goal and has allocated over two hundred million CNY towards this aim. Through much hard work, steadily the abundant subterranean heat resources of Tibet have begun to be developed and used.

Yambajan Hydrothermal Power Plant is the biggest Hydrothermal Power Plant. In recent years, the Yambajan Hydrothermal Power Plant has become a scenic spot because of its special landscape and scientific attractions. The inhabitants of Lhasa and its surrounds often go to bathe in the hot spring, and to visit the fountain and Hydrothermal Power Plant. It is a good place for them to spend their holidays or weekends. Nowadays, Yambajan is listed as a must-see place when traveling in Tibet and the Yambajan Hydrothermal Power Plant is considered an essential place to visit in order to understand Tibet.  

On the plateau, you need consume a large amount of oxygen. So when bathing in the hot spring, you had better not spend too much time bathing in the hot spring: you might make yourself too tired because of the high altitude.In addition, if you visit Yambajan on the way to Namtso, you'd better have the hot-spring bathing on the way back from Namtso, otherwise, you may miss the beautiful dusk scenery of Lake Namtso, and what's worse, your altitude sickness may be aggravated as a result of physical consumption in the hot-spring bathing.

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Pala Manor

Pala Manor is the main manor in Tibet noble para family. Located about four kilometers from Gyangtse, Pala Manor is currently the only one well preserved of the three lords aristocratic manor in Tibet.

A ten-minute drive from Gyangtse will take you to Pala Manor, a place that will give you something of an insight into the lifestyle of the wealthy landowning people who once lived in this area. The Pala Manor we see today still has fifty-seven houses on an estate with an area of approximately 5000 square metres (1.24 acres). The main building is a three-storey structure that includes a scripture hall, reception hall, and bedrooms. In addition to the lobby used for playing the Chinese game of Majiang there are many other reception halls. The maze of rooms is richly decorated with exquisitely carved beams and painted rafters.

One will be genuinely amazed by what can be seen on display here, for many of the original contents of the reception rooms and bedrooms remain on show. Among the items there are an ox horn that would be filled with Qingke (a highland barley wine), fine porcelain bowls for containing ghee, an ivory Majiang set as well as precious fur clothes, glass cups, tins of biscuits and whiskey imported from Britain. The sun-room walls are hung with tiger and deer skins and further evidence of the wealth of the former owner are such things as a gold saddle and two gramophones that were manufactured in Great Britain. The other recreation rooms include a modern gymnasium with facilities for table tennis, badminton and other physical training equipment including ice-skates.

There are also some whips and fetters displayed in the corridor of the main building, as instruments to torture slaves. Pala manor is a true portrayal of two kinds of different class nobles and serfs in old Tibet, is the epitome of the old Tibet society; and also a valuable place of researching politics, economic and cultural in Tibet.
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Jokhang Temple------the Most Sacred and Important Temple in Tibet

The Jokhang is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Chinese Tang Dynasty design, and Nepalese design.

It was founded during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.

During the Bon period of Tibet the temple was (and sometimes still is), called the Zuglagkang (House of Religious Science or House of Wisdom). The term zuglag refers to the 'sciences' such as geomancy, astrology, and divination which formed part of the pre-Buddhist shamanistic religion now referred to as Bon. It is more commonly known today as the Jokhang, which means the 'House of the Buddha'.

Jokhang Temple is the spiritual center of Tibet and the holiest destination for all Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims. Princess Wencheng made use of Chinese astrology to decide that the temple should be built over the pool where the temple is now located. She believed that the pool was a witch's heart and that building the temple over it would purify the area of evil. This pool still exists under the temple.

The temple's central hall holds is most precious object, a sitting statue of Sakyamuni while he was still only a 12 year-old youth. This was carried to Tibet by Princess Wencheng from her home in Chang'an in 700 A.D. It is a gilded statue adorned with many jewels, in an elaborate setting. The idol is very important to Buddhists who have knelt in worship before it for centuries. Outside the temple an old and withered willow tree has survived centuries and is said to be planted by Princess Wencheng herself. Also there is a 3 meter (10 ft.) high pillar, a treaty stone recording the alliance between the King of Tibet and the Emperor of China in 823 A.D.

Every year, Buddhist's Great Prayer Festival is held in the Temple. The rites of Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas' initiation into lamahood are also held in the monastery.

Along with the Potala Palace, it is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace," and a spiritual centre of Lhasa.

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