Little Potala Temple, China

But according to the idea of the Son of Heaven itself, the temple served an important political function and was to serve as a comfortable place to accommodate the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama during their visits from Tibet. That is why the temple was built on the model of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, which until the middle of the XX century was the residence of the Dalai Lamas. Thus, Putuo Zongcheng Temple became a kind of symbol of the unifying forces of the Qing Empire, advocating for the diversity of peoples and cultures.

This is the largest temple complex in Chengde and one of the largest in China covers an area of about 220 thousand square meters. km The red facade of the majestic temple, towering on a hill, is decorated in Tibetan style, although elements of traditional Han architecture are found in the interior of the Tibetan halls with white walls and flat roofs. During the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, the temple received many dignitaries from other countries, including those in vassal dependence on Qing China, Khalkh (Outer Mongolia) and Tibet. Today, Putuo Zongcheng Temple is an inactive temple.

In total, the complex has 50 rooms, including reading rooms, monks' living quarters, reading rooms for Buddhist sutras, etc. Once in the West Hall, pay attention to the amusing copper statue of an awesome woman sitting astride a mule. This is none other than the Favorable Heavenly Mother, who punished the evil spirit. In order to put him to sleep, she married him and bore him two children. One night she swallowed the moon, so that the world plunged into darkness, and crept up to the spirit, turned it into a mule.

In 1994, Putuo Zongcheng Temple, along with all eight temples of the complex, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and today is a popular tourist attraction in China. Whatever temples of China you look in, everywhere you will find an atmosphere of calm, peace and sincere hospitality from the monks. Among the attractions of China are many world-famous cultural, historical, natural and architectural sites.

China cannot be imagined without monasteries, and no matter how far technological progress goes, there will always be spiritual centers in the Middle Kingdom. Some monasteries of China have long since passed a thousand years, but they still remain deeply revered and play an important role in the spiritual life of the inhabitants of this country. Despite the tremendously kept traditions and teachings, the monasteries of China are open to any visitors. The only thing that is required from tourists is the appropriate behavior of the place and payment of entrance tickets.

Each of the monasteries of China, as a rule, has several temples, which are spacious halls with religious paraphernalia. The architecture and decoration of the Chinese monasteries are not similar to the shrines of other Asian countries. Perhaps the main symbol of the temples of the Middle Kingdom - this sculpture of Buddha. They are installed in almost all halls and rooms of monasteries.

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