Tibet Museum in Lhasa
Chinese Name: 西藏博物馆
English Name: Tibet Museum, Lhasa
Opening Hours: Morning: 9:00-12:00; Afternoon: 14:30-17:30; Closed on Mondays
Address: No.19 Norbulingka Road, Chengguan District, Lhasa, Tibet, China
Overview
The Tibet Museum (Tibetan: བོད་ལྗྗོངས་རྟེན་རྫས་བཤམས་མཛོད་ཁང་, Chinese: 西藏博物馆) is the official museum of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, located in Lhasa. Inaugurated on October 5, 1999, it is the first large, modern museum in the Tibet Autonomous Region. With a collection of over 520,000 artifacts, including pottery, jade, and Buddha statues, it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. The museum features around 1,000 artifacts on permanent display, showcasing the cultural history of Tibet. This includes Tibetan art, architectural design, and historical artifacts such as Tibetan doors and beams.
Exterior
The Tibet Museum is a multimillion-dollar project located directly below the Potala Palace on the corner of Norbulingkha Road. The museum building fuses traditional Tibetan architecture with modern design, making it a unique architectural landmark. The structure is a grey brick building, with dark brown and white roof furnishings, and a gilded golden-orange roof.
The museum is divided into three main sections:
- Main exhibition hall
- Folk cultural garden
- Administrative quarter
The central courtyard of the museum is designed with traditional monastic elements, featuring a sleek white floor and a black-and-white origin design at its center. The area is illuminated by large skylight windows, creating an open and serene atmosphere. The museum spans 53,959 square meters, with a total construction area of 23,508 square meters.
Interior
Exhibition Area
The exhibition department covers 10,451 square meters. The History of Tibetan Culture Exhibition is divided into several thematic sections, including:
- Prehistory culture
- Indivisible history
- Culture and arts
- People’s customs
This exhibition explores Tibet’s history, politics, religion, cultural arts, and customs, spanning several thousand years.
Prehistory
This section features artifacts ranging from 50,000 to 3,000 years old. These include stone tools, pottery, bone objects, and metal items unearthed from the Karuo and Qugong sites. These pieces represent the Neolithic culture of the Tibetan Plateau and provide insight into the origins of the Tibetan people. There is also a room dedicated to the flora of Tibet and geological samples from the region.
Political History
The Political History section focuses on Tibet’s different dynastic periods. Visitors can explore numerous seals, books, official documents, and gifts from Emperors, offering a look at the political exchanges between Han Dynasty officials and Tibetan leaders. It also highlights the relationship between the Chinese central government and Tibetan regional leaders. Notably, the museum houses the original copy of the 17-point Agreement signed in 1951, marking Tibet’s reunification with China. Tourists can also view the Golden Urn, which China used to select a disputed Panchen Lama.
Cultural Arts
The Cultural Arts section is divided into eight areas exploring various aspects of Tibetan culture:
- Tibetan-script books, documents, and scrolls
- Tibetan theatre arts
- Tibetan musical instruments
- Tibetan medicine
- Tibetan astronomy and calendar reckoning (including charts)
- Tibetan sculpture
- Thangka painting and arts
The exhibited artifacts are protected by the Tibetan Autonomous Region Cultural Relics Protection Organization, as many of the items are of immense cultural value. Among the exhibits are statues of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and various figures, masks, rare sutras written on pattra leaves and birch bark, manuscripts written with gold, silver, and coral powder, as well as numerous Tibetan handicrafts and valuable jewelry made of gold, silver, and jade.
People’s Culture and Ethnography
This section is divided into six areas exploring the cultural practices of the Tibetan people, including:
- Traditional costumes and dress
- Everyday tools and utensils
- Arts and handicrafts
- Communication methods
The museum’s displays offer insight into the domestic practices of the Tibetan people, as well as the influence of Han culture on Tibetan life. This section is key to understanding the daily lives and traditions of Tibetans, reflecting their rich cultural heritage.
