SHR009-1: Tibetan New Year in Amdo

Introduction

It is the greatest festival in Tibet. In ancient times when the peach tree was in blossom, it was considered as the starting of a new year. Since the systematization of the Tibetan calendar in 1027 A.D., the first day of the first month became fixed as the New Year. On the New Year's Day, families unite "auspicious dipper" is offered and the auspicious words"tashi delek" are greeted.

The Tibetan New Year is known as 'Losar', the most popular of all the festivals of the year, when even young Tibetans wear chuba and pay their first visit of the year to a temple with their family early in the morning. On New Year's Day, Tibetans are supposed to offer ornaments called 'Chemar' and chang beer to their households deity and to the water dragon that takes care of their water supply. Be careful as the chang served is strong enough to get drunk.

Tibetan New Year in Amdo

The tour will lead you to take part in the most popular Tibetan festival, Tibetan Chinese New Year. And you will through this tour to understand the Tibetan culture, and visited the famous Tibetan monastery.

Day1: Fly to Lanzhou

Fly to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province and the elevation is 1300 meters there. Lanzhou locates on the trade route from Sibirien in Lhasa to the center of China and once is important on the Silk Road, but now it’s hometown of fruits and an industrial city surrounded by green.

Day2: By bus to Xiahe

It is only 260km from Lanzhou to Xiahe along the asphalt road by bus .Have lunch in Ningxia, a center city of Muslim. By bus to Xiahe. You can see many mosques in the villages at first. Then many mosques and towers appear in Tibet and you can feel obviously have arrived the culture scope of Tibet. The Han Nationality, the Hui person and the Tibetan live in Xiahe, a modern small city with hotels, shops and post offices. The Labrang Monastery is located at the foot of the Phoenix Mountain northwest of Xiahe County.

Day3: Visit the Labrang Monastery

One kilometer west of Xiahe County stands Labrang Monastery(mean the Lama’s house), one of the biggest Monastery in Amdo country, was built in 1709, or the 48th year of the Kangxi Reign of Qing. Housed in this sumptuously ornamented monastery are tens of thousands of cultural artifacts, Tibetan scriptures and 60,000 books. (Labrang)

Day4: Enjoying the Summons Ceremony in Labrang Monastery

The Labrang Monastery holds seven large-scale summon ceremonies a year, among which the Summons Ceremony in the first lunar month and the Buddhist Doctrine Explaining Ritual in the seventh lunar month are the grandest ones. Showing the Thangka is the most important part of the ceremony. The monks line up orderly, lift the curling Thangka out of the main hall, pass the small alley to the ThangKa hill. Open the Thangka and show the huge joss. The dignitary and Lama hold the ceremony in the extremely crowded circumstance. Pilgrims try to touch the Thngka. The Thangka should be carried back to the hall before the sunlight shines to it. Because the Labrang Monastery is very rich, there are four pieces of Thangka: Manjushri, Amithaba, Sakyamuni and Tsongkhapa and just show one per year.Free in the afternoon. You have enough time to visit this place and contact with the local people. Some herdsmen who wear heavy sheepskin overcoat and fox fur hat walk in the temple. Also, you can buy souvenir in the Xiahe market.

Day5: Look on the mask dance performance in Labrang Monastery

The performance begins in the noon and lasts about 2 hours. The mask dance shows how the Buddhism defeats the other religion .The dancers wear masks and their clothes and accessories outline the god image particularly .By bus to Tongren autonomous County of Tibetan national minority after lunch.

Day6 : Enjoying the ceremony in Longwu temple

Walk to the Longwu temple, the biggest temple of the Gelug Sect of Lamaism in the south of Qinghai built in 1301. After lunch, visit the ceremony in the temple. The monks come out accompanied with canopy and silk banner. Some monks who wear magnificent cassock lead the ceremony. The climax is the monks lift the joss and pass through the crowded people.

Day7: Visit in Wutun temple and enjoy the dance performance

By bus towards east to the Wutun temple about 6km. Wutun temple is the center of the Wutun art in Tibetan Buddhism, also famous for the Tongren art. Tongren art is the mix of the Han nationality culture and the Tibet culture, show the reality, colourful description and brush art. 90 percent of the local men are artists before 1958. We have chance to buy Wutun Thangka in the journey. By bus to Tongren. Walk to the Longwu temple after lunch. Look on the dance performance in the temple and feel the ceremony atmosphere again. Walk along the busy business street crowded with many herdsmen to the hotel.

Day8: Visit in the Nyentok,Gomar and Maitreya Monastery

Visit the Nyentok, Gomar monastery before leaving the Repkong county,both traditionally inhabited by Tu rather than Tibetan monks. There are a few original structure which survived the Cultural Revolution here. Visit the 300 years old Maitreya Monastery. By bus to Xining. On the way, we will experience the change from the Tibet culture area to the Muslem culture area. After arrive in xining, the capital of Qinghai, walk along the alleyway of Bazazhong.

Day9: Visit in the Kumbum-Dschamba Ling

Kumbum-Dschamba Ling is the last temple in the east of Tibet. A German explorer once appraised: it is one of the most holy places in Asia and constitute the Buddhism's center and Holy Land just inferior to Buddhism capital Lhasa according to fable, Tsongkhapa, the Yellow lamaism initiator, was born here in 1357.There is a banyan in his birthplace, under his influence, thousands of josses appear on the leaf. Now, this banyan is growing in a splendid tower, inner of the gold palace. The gold palace is Ta’er Monastery's center. Butter sculptures, frescoes and padded embroidery are the three treasures of the monastery. By bus return to Xining.

Day10: Fly back to Beijing

Check out of the hotel and transfer to the airport station to catch the flight to Beijing.

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