Potala Palace, Lhasa MG_3689

This amazing palace has the honor of being the highest ancient palace in the world, with its highest point reaching 3,750 meters (12,300 feet) above sea level, towering 100 meters (300 feet) above the city of Lhasa.  It is also considered to be one of the wonders of the world.

A large number of Tibetan monks take residence in the Palace.  Being a house of prayer, it is opened to the public and a daily crowd of pilgrims circle the Palace in prayer.  In addition many well fitted visitors are brave enough to climb around 300 or more stone ramps.  A tedious climb, worth every effort, and especially difficult taking into account the high altitude of this city.

Shot taken from the street.

This is a two part structures: The Red Palace and the White Palace as seen by the pictures.

Shot after entering the gate.

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Potala Palace – Night Shot, Lhasa, MG_3667

Potala Palace, a UNESCO world heritage site and the iconic structure of Lhasa was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama.   Major uprising and turmoil in 1959 led the Dalai Lama to leave the country and take refuge in India, and the Palace was converted to a Museum by the government.  Lots of history though the years, destructions of the structure in part because of the turmoil of the China’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and restoration conducted by 1980.  It is a very impressive and beautiful white and red building.

This shot was taken from my hotel window at night

Potala Palace – Day Shot, Lhasa, MG_3672

A different outlook during a sunny bright morning hour with the impressive mountain background again from my hotel window.

Two Tibetan Women, Lhasa, Tibet, MG_3653

Time to move a bit on our journey.  We arrived in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.  Lhasa is a city and administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Rep. of China.  Lhasa literally means “place of the gods”, and one of the highest cities in the world. It contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang  Temple and Norbulinga Palaces.

The pictures below portrays Women chatting, a continuous occurrence in many countries I’ve visited, but very noticeable inTibet.

Very often, you find the women in pair, perhaps as a support to one another.

 

Full Moon, MG_6805

Full Moon shot with a Canon 400 mm Lens at 1/200 sec at f/10, ISO 200 and . This picture won first place at my Club Photo Competition.

Hats & More, Chengdu MG_3638

I stood across this stand for perhaps ten long minutes before being able to take that shot, because of  endless passers-by.  This was the only chance I had and was nevertheless forced to crop this shot almost by a hair.

Nobody’s buying, Chengdu MG_3630

 

The moment I captured this shot, no one was around, but a few seconds later, there was smile on his face and he became a happy vendor.

Flute Store Performer, Chengdu, MG_3627

Trying to capture the public with a slow tempo Chinese melody.

Street Performers, Chengdu, MG_3621

Mimic street performers with human expressions in a busy pedestrian shopping street.

Artist at work, Chengdu, MG_3619

With precision albeit talking on the phone.

Sichuan Opera Show, Chengdu, MG_3223

Right on my face, separated by one row and still, I can’t say how this is done.  UNBELIEVABLE.  It’s not magic, but rather a trick, that’s all I can say.