NEWS

New Metal Barricades in Lhasa's Jokhang Control Access to Inner Temple

TIN News Update /15 May 2004 /2 Pages/ ISSN: 3313-3315

Metal barricades nearly 1.8 meters high have been installed across the inner courtyard of Lhasa's Jokhang Temple (Tibetan: Tsug Lhakhang; Chinese: Dazhaosi). Their purpose, according to monks and local residents, is to manage Tibetan worshippers entering the inner temple and to ensure that tourists cannot do so without purchasing a ticket. The inner temple houses Tibet's most sacred Buddha image, the Jowo Shakyamuni, known popularly as Jowo Rinpoche.

http://www.tibetinfo.net/reports/culture/barricades1.htm (Click for image)
Tibetans, as well as Buddhists from throughout the People's Republic of China (PRC) and around the world, pay homage in the Jokhang daily, but numbers swell dramatically on Buddhist holy days. During a typical lunar month, the days of new and full moon attract the largest crowds. Tibetans intending to offer prayers within the Jowo Shakyamuni sanctuary patiently move forward at a glacial pace in a tightly packed line. They maintain their best behaviour during waits that may exceed an hour, avoiding abuse of each other or of the temple.

The new bars, fastened to the courtyard paving stones with expansion bolts, are set out approximately six metres from the west wall of the inner temple.  The barricade has a single gate, signed "entrance" in Chinese and English, directly in front of the doorway into the inner temple. The barrier wraps around the corners of the building and runs parallel to the north and south walls at a distance of between one and 1.5 metres from the wall.  The barriers terminate a few metres after turning the corners, creating an opening through which Tibetans are permitted to make their approach to the inner temple entry. The passage created by the barricade is narrow but wide enough for one person to slip past another.

A westerner familiar with Lhasa witnessed the scene recently on a busy lunar holy day and told TIN that the central gate and each side opening was manned by a pair of uniformed policemen.  The officers were Tibetan and could speak with worshippers, several of whom seemed confused or annoyed by the entry procedures. The policemen unlocked the central gate for Jokhang monks and tourists who could produce a ticket. Several Tibetans attempted to gain entry directly through the main gate and avoid the crowded side channels. Officers rebuffed most of them but allowed a few to pass. According to the visitor, some Jokhang monks appeared visibly irritated at having to wait for an officer to unlock the gate every time they entered or exited the inner temple. Within the temple itself, no new crowd management or security measures were apparent. The foreigner told TIN, "The sight of devout Tibetans packed behind these intrusive new bars begs for unflattering comparisons. They are well-behaved worshippers, not sports hooligans or zoo animals."

http://www.tibetinfo.net/reports/culture/barricades2.htm (Click for image)
The gate is left open and unattended during non-peak periods. The date of installation of the barricades is not clear. Tibetans suggested that they were erected some time after early February, near the Tibetan New Year.  Losar was 21 February this year.

The Tsug Lhakhang and the Jowo Sakyamuni occupy a central position in the cultural and religious history of Tibetans. Wencheng, a princess of the Chinese Tang imperial family, brought the Jowo Sakyamuni to Lhasa with her and married King Songtsan Gampo in 641. She and the king's Nepali wife, Princess Bhrikuti, are credited by Tibetan historiography with influencing the Tibetan king to adopt Buddhism. The Jokhang was constructed in the years following the arrival of Wencheng and the Jowo.

Although Tibetans may enter the Jokhang free of charge, everyone else, including Chinese (Han), is considered a 'tourist' and must pay 70 Yuan before entering the main courtyard. Ethnicity, not purpose, is the factor that determines entry status. Worshippers who are not Tibetan are treated as tourists. The entrance charge has surpassed that of Beijing's renowned Forbidden City, which is currently 60 Yuan.

Although local residents and monks acknowledged that the barricades make it easier to collect steep entrance fees, they agreed that the official justification for the bars is to control Tibetan crowds and protect the ancient temple. But since Tibetan worshippers have been visiting the Jokhang in large numbers for centuries, it is unclear why the measures have been introduced now.

See also:
TIN News Update on 31 December 2003
Prostitution on the rise amongst Tibetans
http://www.tibetinfo.net/news-updates/2003/3112.htm

TIN News Update on 01 Sepetember 2003
Lhasa prefecture encourages rural migration for "building a middle-class society"
http://www.tibetinfo.net/news-updates/2003/0109.htm

TIN News Update on 10 September 2002
'Rebuilding' and 'Renovation' in Lhasa
http://www.tibetinfo.net/news-updates/2002/1009.htm

This article provided by:

Tibet Information Network (TIN)
http://www.tibetinfo.net

The Tibet Information Network (TIN) is an independent news and research service that provides information and analysis of the current political, economic,social,environmental and human rights situation in Tibet.