Places To See In Harbin And Lhasa

Unique in China, Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang Province and bears the marks of its closeness to Russia in both its architecture and its food. Because of its position on a branch of the Trans Siberian Railway, its role as a place of refuge for exiled Russian aristocrats after the Russian Revolution and a period of Soviet rule.

St Sophia's Cathedral in the Butou district is the most obvious Russian building, built of red brick with a green onion dome, but there are also entire streets of old Russian style terraced housing, untouched since the Russians left. The cathedral is now the Harbin Museum of Architecture. Several other Russian churches escaped destruction during the Cultural Revolution, but they are mostly not in use.


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The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival runs from January until the ice melts. The Snow and Ice Festival features giant carvings in snow, while the Ice Lantern Festival has large statues and buildings carved in ice with lanterns softly glowing inside.
Just outside the city is the Siberian Tiger Park, dedicated to preserving these beautiful but endangered big cats. The squeamish should avoid the feeding sessions.

The holiest centre of Tibetan Buddhism, Lhasa is the traditional seat of the Dalai Lama. One of the highest cities in the world, it sits at the foot of Mount Gephel. The name means Land of the Gods. At the east of the city you will find the Barkhor Street Market and the Jokhang Temple (Tsuglagkhang), while the western part is where all the hotels, restaurants and other tourist infrastructure lies.

The Potala Palace (Podrang Potala) perches on Mount Marpo Ri. There has been a stronghold here for at least 1400 years, but the current version is chiefly the work of the Fifth Dalai Lama in the 17th century and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama in the 20th century It is a steep climb up to the palace and it spreads over several floors, so visiting the museum here is not to be advised before you acclimatize to the altitude.

The Dalai Lama's main residence until 1755, and then the winter residence until the mid 20th century, Tour Quế Lâm the palace is now a museum with shrines, antiques and scriptures. The inner, Red Palace contains the tombs and shrines of the Lamas, while the outer, white palace contained residential areas and the administrative offices. The Norbulingka, a short distance to the south, was the summer residence and has been undergoing restoration. The Jokhang Temple was first built in the 7th century to shelter statues of the Buddha, most importantly the Jowo Sakyamuni Buddha. It is traditional for pilgrims to perform the koras by walking around the three concentric paths that encircle the temple. Although the city is at risk of becoming a theme park if care is not taken by the authorities, it still has the atmosphere of one of the holiest sites on Earth.
Wherever you travel in the world you are unlikely to find anywhere as peaceful, tranquil and kynghidongduong.vn meaningful as the temples of the Dalai Lama.







Adrian vultur writes for [ ]







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