Jokhang Monestery

Overview
Jokhang Monestery, also known as "zulakang" and "juekang" (Tibetan meaning Buddhist temple), is located in the center of Lhasa's old town. It is a Tibetan Buddhist temple built by the king of Tibetan Songzan Ganbu. Jokhang Monestery has a history of more than 1300 years, and has a supreme position in Tibetan Buddhism. Jokhang Monestery is the most splendid Tibetan Architecture in Tibet. 

Jokhang Monestery is also the earliest civil structure building in Tibet, and has created the Tibetan Pingchuan style temple city planning. The reason why Lhasa has the reputation of "holy land" is related to the Buddha statue of "Reza", the God of Tibetan Buddhism. The temple was originally called "Reza". Later, it became the name of the city and evolved into the current "Lhasa". After the completion of the Jokhang Monestery, it was modified and expanded repeatedly in the yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Background
Jokhang Monestery was built in the heyday of the Tubo Dynasty in the seventh century. According to legend, it was built to worship a Buddha statue of Sakyamuni at the age of 8. The Buddha statue was brought from Kathmandu by the Nepalese Princess Chizun who was married by the Tubo king Songzan Gambo. 

The Jokhang Monestery has been built for more than three years. In Tibetan, it is called "goat" as "Rao" and "Tu" as "Sa". In order to commemorate the achievements of white goat, the temple was originally named "resha", later renamed as "zulakang" (Sutra Hall), also known as "juekang" (Buddhist Hall). The full name of the temple is "re sa gaxi long Nang zulakang", which means that it was built by goats carrying soil.

Jokhang Monestery suffered two disasters in history. In the late 7th century, the first ban on Buddhism was initiated by noble ministers who believed in the primitive Bon religion, and the second movement was launched by randhama in the middle of the 9th century. As a result, the Jokhang Monestery was either reduced to a slaughterhouse or closed, while the statue of Sakyamuni was buried underground twice.

Religious status
The Tibetan people have a saying that "Jokhang Monestery first, then Lhasa City". Jokhang Monestery has a central position in Lhasa, not only in geographical location, but also in social life.

Jokhang Monestery is not only a temple for worshiping many Buddhist statues and sacred objects, but also a three-dimensional and true representation of Tantra, an ideal model of the universe in Buddhism, Mandala. In front of the entrance of the main gate of the Jokhang Monestery, there are three stone pillars. On a stone pillar, there is an alliance signed in 823 ad between Tang and Tibet. Most of the temples in Tibet belong to a certain Tibetan Buddhist sect, while Jokhang Monestery is a sacred temple respected by all sects.

Main Structure
The hall of dazhaosi is 4 stories high. The golden roof and Dougong of the whole building are typical of Han style. carving hall and roof beam are Tibetan style. There are 103 wooden ambush animals and human Sphinx arranged in rows under the eaves of the second and third floors of the main hall. There are Tibetan murals about 1000 meters long in the temple. The main buildings are: Maitreya Buddha Hall, Guanyin hall, Sanfawang hall, Tara hall, Tangfan alliance stone tablet, Pharmacist hall, Wuliangguang Buddha Hall, Jokhang Monestery Golden top.

Information
Opening Hours: 09:00-18:00
Admission Fee: CNY 85
visit time: 2 hours
Best time visit: Mar-Oct