Norbu Lingka, the 'Summer Palace' on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Norbu Lingka, which means 'Treasure Park' in Tibetan, is also known as the Summer Palace of Lhasa. It is the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas and the place where they handle political affairs and hold religious activities. This garden is the most distinctive garden in Tibet, covering an area of 46 hectares, with more than 370 rooms of different sizes, known as the 'garden in the garden'. Norbu Lingka was built in the mid-18th century, during the Seventh Dalai Lama. Every year from April to September in the Tibetan calendar, the Dalai Lama would move from the Potala Palace to this place to handle political affairs and hold celebrations. Norbu Lingka was originally a shrub forest, a place where the old course of the Lhasa River passed. The Seventh Dalai Lama, Gelsang Gyatso, often came here to set up tents to spend the summer during his studies at Drepung Monastery. Later, the Qing court's minister in Tibet set up tents here for the Dalai Lama to rest and recite sutras, which is the earliest origin of Norbu Lingka. Norbu Lingka is composed of several groups of palace buildings such as Gelsang Podrang, Golden Podrang, Datan Mingju Podrang, etc., each group of buildings is divided into three main parts: the palace front area, the palace area, and the forest area. The building group with Gelsang Podrang as the main body is located in the southeast of the southern courtyard within the second wall, with Buddha halls, bedrooms, reading rooms, Dharma protector temples, assembly halls, etc. The building group with Choji Podrang (Lake Heart Pavilion) as the main body is located about 120 meters northwest of Gelsang Podrang, which is the most beautiful scenic area in Norbu Lingka. The building group with Golden Podrang as the main body is located in the west of Norbu Lingka. Each group of buildings is mainly made of wood and stone, with neat planning and obvious Tibetan architectural style.