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Her stooped shadow stretched long in the dim rays of dawn， 80-year-old Tseten Drolkar shuffles across the newly-laid stone slabs of Barkhor Street in Lhasa， her left hand holding a string of beads and her right hand spinning a prayer wheel.
More than half a century ago， Drolkar relocated to Lhasa. In those days， Barkhor Street was still dirt and often turned muddy on rainy days. Eventually， the street was paved with stone， but became bumpy over time. Then， the ordinary stone was replaced with hard， polished granite， but that rock proved too shiny for the plateau’s sharp sunlight. Finally， the street was paved with stone slabs from 5，300-meter-high mountains in the nearby Shannan area. The flagstones remain unpolished and retain their naturally rough textures to preserve the old city’s vintage atmosphere. “Paved with this stone， the street doesn’t reflect sunlight，” notes Drolkar.
Lhasa， literally “place of the gods” in Tibetan， has long been deemed a holy， mysterious land and has lured countless pilgrims. Last December， the city launched a conservation project to renovate its old district around Jokhang Monastery and Barkhor Street. The area is not only the most populous area of Lhasa – it also sees heavy tourist flow amidst a high concentration of unique Tibetan cultural relics. Some worry that the project will assault the ancient city’s cultural singularity. However， the project planner and builders have made every effort to revive the traditional appearance of the plateau city.
According to Tseda， deputy chief of the construction headquarters of Lhasa’s conservation project， many buildings in the old district of Lhasa were crumbling and residents suffered from underdeveloped infrastructure. In recent years， with a sharp increase in both population and vehicles， the streets of Lhasa’s old district are increasingly strained. Aging power lines and fire-fighting facilities could pose hidden hazards. The project aims to improve the living environment for residents in the old district through upgrading electricity， communication， heating， water supply and drainage.
After consideration from local residents， the plan won their support. Tsering Yutso， who operates a Tibetan souvenir shop in Nyisang Trimpo Market on Barkhor Street， admitted that the project caused inconvenience during construction. “But we’ll trade short-term inconvenience for a better future，” she explained. She expects to see a bump in business once the project is complete. On the south side of Jokhang Monastery’s square， builders installed a decorative golden roof above a shop named Tibetan Cottage. One builder， Xiong Shuibing， revealed， “We took pictures of the historic buildings in the old district before the project to ensure restored buildings are identical to the originals.”
During the project， builders also adopted traditional techniques and materials to repair or replace worn-out pieces of buildings under supervision by experts in ancient Tibetan architecture， cultural heritage， religion， and folklore. Throughout the process of restoration， the materials， tones， and styles of the old buildings have been strictly maintained to ensure the consistency of Tibetan history and culture.
“Fire and flood are two natural enemies of the cultural relics in our monastery，” illustrates Nyima Tsering， a monk at Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa. “By improving the firefighting infrastructure， the project will protect relics from the hidden danger of fire. Previously， the monastery was often soaked in water during rainy season due to an outdated drainage system. Moisture is a great threat to relics here. The project upgraded the drainage system， which is important for relic protection.”
Over the last two years， Lhasa has launched many projects aiming to protect cultural relics in its old district. According to Ma Xinming， a local publicity official， nine major conservation projects concerning Lhasa’s old district are now ongoing， with a total investment of 300 million yuan， including a mural conservation project at Jokhang Monastery and a mural protection and Buddhist sculpture project at Ramoche Monastery.
Jokhang Monastery is a holy icon for Tibetan Buddhists. More than 300 years ago， Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso， the fifth Dalai Lama， summoned prestigious monks and experienced artisans from across Tibet to paint murals in the holy structure. Along with religious figures， the murals also depict Tibetan history， culture， economics， and art. For this reason， they are referred to as an “encyclopedia of Tibetan society.”However， after centuries of weathering， some are fading and falling apart.
In June 2012， a project was launched to restore deteriorating historic murals in Jokhang Monastery， with an investment of 10 million yuan and a three-year plan.“All restored murals are guaranteed to look identical to the originals，” stresses Guo Hong， a supervisor of the project. “The monastery receives numerous Buddhist pilgrims each year. This project aims to restore the monastery’s religious art.”
Although the project is scheduled to take three years， Guo said it could last longer if necessary， to ensure every mural is perfectly repaired. When that day comes， all the precious treasures in Jokhang Monastery will see some new rays of dawn.
More than half a century ago， Drolkar relocated to Lhasa. In those days， Barkhor Street was still dirt and often turned muddy on rainy days. Eventually， the street was paved with stone， but became bumpy over time. Then， the ordinary stone was replaced with hard， polished granite， but that rock proved too shiny for the plateau’s sharp sunlight. Finally， the street was paved with stone slabs from 5，300-meter-high mountains in the nearby Shannan area. The flagstones remain unpolished and retain their naturally rough textures to preserve the old city’s vintage atmosphere. “Paved with this stone， the street doesn’t reflect sunlight，” notes Drolkar.
Lhasa， literally “place of the gods” in Tibetan， has long been deemed a holy， mysterious land and has lured countless pilgrims. Last December， the city launched a conservation project to renovate its old district around Jokhang Monastery and Barkhor Street. The area is not only the most populous area of Lhasa – it also sees heavy tourist flow amidst a high concentration of unique Tibetan cultural relics. Some worry that the project will assault the ancient city’s cultural singularity. However， the project planner and builders have made every effort to revive the traditional appearance of the plateau city.
According to Tseda， deputy chief of the construction headquarters of Lhasa’s conservation project， many buildings in the old district of Lhasa were crumbling and residents suffered from underdeveloped infrastructure. In recent years， with a sharp increase in both population and vehicles， the streets of Lhasa’s old district are increasingly strained. Aging power lines and fire-fighting facilities could pose hidden hazards. The project aims to improve the living environment for residents in the old district through upgrading electricity， communication， heating， water supply and drainage.
After consideration from local residents， the plan won their support. Tsering Yutso， who operates a Tibetan souvenir shop in Nyisang Trimpo Market on Barkhor Street， admitted that the project caused inconvenience during construction. “But we’ll trade short-term inconvenience for a better future，” she explained. She expects to see a bump in business once the project is complete. On the south side of Jokhang Monastery’s square， builders installed a decorative golden roof above a shop named Tibetan Cottage. One builder， Xiong Shuibing， revealed， “We took pictures of the historic buildings in the old district before the project to ensure restored buildings are identical to the originals.”
During the project， builders also adopted traditional techniques and materials to repair or replace worn-out pieces of buildings under supervision by experts in ancient Tibetan architecture， cultural heritage， religion， and folklore. Throughout the process of restoration， the materials， tones， and styles of the old buildings have been strictly maintained to ensure the consistency of Tibetan history and culture.
“Fire and flood are two natural enemies of the cultural relics in our monastery，” illustrates Nyima Tsering， a monk at Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa. “By improving the firefighting infrastructure， the project will protect relics from the hidden danger of fire. Previously， the monastery was often soaked in water during rainy season due to an outdated drainage system. Moisture is a great threat to relics here. The project upgraded the drainage system， which is important for relic protection.”
Over the last two years， Lhasa has launched many projects aiming to protect cultural relics in its old district. According to Ma Xinming， a local publicity official， nine major conservation projects concerning Lhasa’s old district are now ongoing， with a total investment of 300 million yuan， including a mural conservation project at Jokhang Monastery and a mural protection and Buddhist sculpture project at Ramoche Monastery.
Jokhang Monastery is a holy icon for Tibetan Buddhists. More than 300 years ago， Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso， the fifth Dalai Lama， summoned prestigious monks and experienced artisans from across Tibet to paint murals in the holy structure. Along with religious figures， the murals also depict Tibetan history， culture， economics， and art. For this reason， they are referred to as an “encyclopedia of Tibetan society.”However， after centuries of weathering， some are fading and falling apart.
In June 2012， a project was launched to restore deteriorating historic murals in Jokhang Monastery， with an investment of 10 million yuan and a three-year plan.“All restored murals are guaranteed to look identical to the originals，” stresses Guo Hong， a supervisor of the project. “The monastery receives numerous Buddhist pilgrims each year. This project aims to restore the monastery’s religious art.”
Although the project is scheduled to take three years， Guo said it could last longer if necessary， to ensure every mural is perfectly repaired. When that day comes， all the precious treasures in Jokhang Monastery will see some new rays of dawn.