Tibet Travel News Archieve

-------- November 2004 --------

Thousand Buddha Corridor reappears life
Nov. 16, 2004

China Tibet Information Center, -In the morning of November 13th, the Lhasa Development and Planning Committee together with the local government, local construction department, local cultural bureau and so on formed the experts team to check the renovation work of Thousand Buddha Corridor in Jokhang Monastery.

Jokhang Monastery was built in 746 AD with a history of 1350 years plus. It is the National Level Relics Protection unit and has been a place of pilgrimage and the spiritual center of Lhasa for centuries. Inside the Jokhang Monastery, there is a front corridor built in 1409 by Zongkapa Master. Around 1650, the 5th Dalai Lama ordered to enlarge the corridor and paint one thousand Buddhas on the walls, thus the name of Thousand Buddha Corridor coming into being. Up to now, it has the history of 350 years. Due to the erosion of natural elements, it has been undergoing repairment.

This repairment project was bided with total value of 531.68 thousand yuan, the construction investment of 628.278 thousand yuan. It was initiated on April 20th, 2004 and finished on October 20th.

Under the supervision of the department concerned, the after-work check by the officials concerned was over. It is said that the primitive stage of the renovation of this corridor was successfully concluded.

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Felling victim to Tibet's charm
Nov. 16, 2004

China Tibet Information Center, -The vice chairman of Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, Wu Changjiang will open his individual exhibition on 23rd November in China Art Museum.

In this exhibition, he will show public his 140 paintings including sketches, line drawings and aquarelles in his past 20 years' journey to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. From 1980, he began to draw pictures on the plateau. Wu first went to Tibet to sketch in 1983. He has a deep love and passion towards it. No matter how difficult the condition was, he insisted in his purchase. To him, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has an unceasing charm. His works are skillful and lifelike, reflecting his understanding of the stark simplicity of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a land unique to China.

To date, Wu's works have been published in Wu Changjiang Tibet Sketch Album, Wu Changjiang's World -- Block Print Album and Wu Changjiang Sketch Album. Most of his works portray the life of herdsmen on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

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Expert: El Nino may affect Tibetan climate next year
November 13, 2004

Xinhua News Agency -The El Nino phenomenon which recently emerged in the atmosphere and ocean of the Pacific tropics zone is very likely to bring an anomalous climate to Tibet next year, a local expert warned.

Purbu Zhoima, a famous meteorologist from Tibet Autonomous Region Meteorological Bureau, said the latest El Nino phenomenon, formed this October, is very likely to bring about large scale snowfalls in northern Tibet and the marginal areas in the south this winter and next spring.

The probability for a massive drought next summer, except in the south, will be 80 to 90 percent, he said.

Purbu said Tibet has already seen an obvious premonition of El Nino this autumn.

The precipitation in Tibet's major places are reported 40 percent to four times more than the same period last year, while the temperatures are one to two Celsius degrees lower.

Both the 102.5 mm precipitation in Changdu and the biggest eversnowfall in Cuona, accumulating as deep as 24 centimeters, show that El Nino is approaching Tibet, said the meteorologist.

Purbu said the El Nino phenomenon, occurring every four or fiveyears, usually triggers disastrous climate.

There were four El Nino episodes during the 1990s, which causedthree massive snowfalls in 1994, late 1996 and early 1997 in Tibet,significantly harming the local economy.

News Archieve:

• October 2004