I saw herds of sheep again... ha... This time, this group of animals were practically blocking the main road and we had to wait for a couple of minutes before they can be gathered to the side of the road to make way for us.
On our way to 'conquer' the first mountain... if you are wondering, yes, i saw snow along the way...
Bare trees lining the road...
Car plates reveal the place where they were bought. 青 in this case refers to 青海 province.
日月亭
These two pavilions are built to commemorate 文昌公主, Princess Wen Chang, of the Tang Dynasty when she set off on a political marriage to the mongols. 文昌公主 wasn't a princess by birth. In fact, she was the emperor's, 李世民's neice. Since it was an arranged marriage for political reasons, 李世民 gave her a princess title before sending her off. It was said that the emperor gave her a present to send her off and it was here where she opened it while taking a break. In it was a carved sun and moon sculpture. It seems that the emperor hoped that the best moonlight and sunlight can accompany her even of she was miles away from home.
倒淌河
It was at this very small river where 文昌公主 brought out a mirror bearing the carvings of her motherland and threw it in, determined to set her heart to the new foreign land which she has to call home.
Near the river, a horse gazes next to its owner.
Local tibetans enjoying the morning breeze.
Here, a statue of 文昌公主 was built in memory of her. There she stood, with her head slightly tilted, hands in a prayer, facing her the Chinese land.
青海湖 Qinghai Lake
青海湖, also known as 地球上的一滴眼泪, is the biggest saltwater lake in China. It is located approximately 3200 metres above sea level.
Little guesthouses along the lake.
Entrance gate to the lama temple
There are a total of 108 such small 'bells' in this temple, each representing one man's worry as it is believed that the mortal man has a total of 108 worries on earth. Thus, by going round the temple once and turning these 'bells' as you go along, you 'll erase such worries on your mind. The 108 'bells' also signifies the 108 disciples of 释迦牟尼.
8 bigger 'bells' are also found around the temple, with each representing a 活佛 who pray here during ceremonies.
Tibetan tents
We caught the locals dancing!!! Look at these two adorable kids!!!
Guess what these pancakes-look-alike are? They are used as fuel for cooking purposes (instead of firewood as (if you ever notice,) there isn't lots of trees here).
Presenting...... Baked cow dung.
塔尔寺
A lama temple where the buildings incorporated Tibetan and Han style of architecture. The day which we arrived was coincidentally 佛缘日, a day where the 活佛 blessed the people. It seems like a big day cos one of the major hall was closed (sad to say)... but i got to meet one of the 活佛... haha... I don't feel anything different or whatsoever though so hm... dunno... maybe wasn't pure enough to get enlightened.
Anyway, i heard so much about the lamasim from our tour guide (she's quite a believer) that i wanted to share some...
There are 5 different types of lamaism, with the 黄派, yellow sect, being the most popular, since it has the most number of followers.
Coincidentally, tibetans have 5 different burial options for their dead too. The first being 塔葬 which is only applicable to respectable lamas. 火葬 is only used for 活佛 so that their remains can be collected. 水葬 can only be used for people who lives near a river, and thus wasn't commonly used since water is very scarce in this region. 土葬 was surprsingly not common as it is only used on criminals. In lamaism, they believed that 土葬 is the worst burial one can have as it drives the spirit down to Hell, you know 十八层地狱. So, that leaves the last one, 天葬 as the most popular one. And nope. It doesn't refers to hanging the coffin of the dead at the top of the mountain. In fact, it literally refers to having a ceremony before bringing the dead to the top of the mountain for the birds to feed on. The head has to be wrapped up as it needs to be the last body part to be eaten by the birds. Nothing is supposed to be left behind, including the bones (which will be fed upon by the birds as well). If there are, it is deemed inauspicious and the living family of the dead has to conduct further rituals. Apparently, the whole process doesn't take very long, approximately less than an hour as there are usually hundreds of birds each time.
The pagodas which stood at the entrance.
Inside of the temple...
A monk stood at the foot of the building at the entrance.
