Shigatse
Seat of the Panchen Lama
permit required
Portrait
Tashilhunpo was founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama and became the seat of the Panchen Lamas, the second-ranking line in Gelug Buddhism; it holds a twenty-six-metre gilded Maitreya cast from nearly three hundred kilos of gold. Unlike most large Tibetan monasteries it came through the Cultural Revolution with much of its fabric intact, and several hundred monks remain.
By permit Tibet travel permits are required for foreign visitors.
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