Norbulingka (Luobulinka)

Frommer's Review

Whatever traits the various manifestations of the Dalai Lama share, architectural taste is not one of them. The manicured gardens of the summer residence are pleasant -- especially on weekends when locals gather for picnics -- but the buildings, added by the 7th (who choose the site for its medicinal springs), 8th, 13th, and 14th incarnations, do not sit well together. The most interesting is Takten Podrang, commissioned by Dalai Lama XIV in 1954, 5 years before he fled to India. As at the Potala Palace, the lack of luxuries is striking, but the rooms give a distinctly human insight to the Dalai Lama, particularly the grubby bathtub, full of financial offerings. On the second floor is a fascinating mural depicting the history of Tibet, from the legendary union of a wild ogre with a monkey (an emanation of Avalokiteshvara), to the final frame of the young Dalai and Panchen Lamas meeting with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. Duck under the rope to get a good look.

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