Niña Alexandra N.

Manalo Level VI
CHINA REPORT

1. POTALA PALACE

The Potala Palace is a dzong fortress in Lhasa, Tibet, China. It was the winter palace
of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and a World
Heritage Site since 1994.

The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara. The 5th Dalai Lama started its construction in 1645 after one of his
spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (died 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as
a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and
the old city of Lhasa. It may overlie the remains of an earlier fortress called the White
or Red Palace on the site, built by Songtsen Gampo in 637.

Tradition has it that the three main hills of Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of
Tibet". Chokpori, just to the south of the Potala, is the soul-mountain (Wylie: bla ri) of
Vajrapani, Pongwari that of Manjusri, and Marpori, the hill on which the Potala stands,
represents Avalokiteśvara.

The site on which the Potala Palace rises is built over a palace erected by Songtsen
Gampo on the Red Hill. The Potala contains two chapels on its northwest corner that
conserve parts of the original building. One is the Phakpa Lhakhang, the other the
Chogyel Drupuk, a recessed cavern identified as Songtsen Gampo's meditation cave.
The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. The
number of visitors to the palace was restricted to 1,600 a day, with opening hours
reduced to six hours daily to avoid over-crowding from 1 May 2003. The palace was
receiving an average of 1,500 a day prior to the introduction of the quota, sometimes
peaking to over 5,000 in one day.
2. Yarlung Tsangpo
The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo and Yalu Zangbu River
(Yǎlǔzàngbù Jiāng) is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River located in the Tibet
Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in
China. The upper section is also called Dangque Zangbu meaning "Horse River."
Originating at Angsi Glacier in western Tibet, southeast of Mount Kailash and Lake
Manasarovar, it later forms the South Tibet Valley and Yarlung Tsangpo Grand
Canyon before passing into the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. At present the
main channel of the river is called Jamuna River, which flows southward to meet the
Ganges, which in Bangladesh is called the Padma.
When leaving the Tibetan Plateau, the river forms the world's largest and deepest
canyon, Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon.
The Yarlung Tsangpo River is the highest major river in the world. Its longest tributary
is the Nyang River. Major tributaries of Yarlung Tsangpo include Nyangchu River,
Lhasa River, Nyang River, and Parlung Tsangpo.
In Tibet the river flows through the South Tibet Valley, which is approximately 1,200
kilometres long and 300 kilometres wide.
The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, formed by a horse-shoe bend in the river where
it leaves the Tibetan Plateau and flows around Namcha Barwa, is the deepest, and
possibly longest canyon in the world.
The Yarlung Tsangpo River has three major waterfalls in its course. The largest
waterfall of the river, the "Hidden Falls", was not publicized in the West until 1998,
when its sighting by Westerners was briefly hailed as a "discovery." They were even
portrayed as the discovery of the great falls which had been the topic of stories told to
early westerners by Tibetan hunters and Buddhist monks, but which had never been
found by Western explorers at the time. The Chinese authorities contradicted,
however, saying that Chinese geographers, who explored the gorge from 1973 on,
had already taken pictures of the falls in 1987 from a helicopter.
Since the 1990s the Yarlung Tsangpo River has been the destination of a number of
teams that engage in exploration and whitewater kayaking. The river has been called
the "Everest of Rivers" because of the extreme conditions of the river. The first
attempt to run was made in 1993 by a Japanese group who lost one member on the
river.
3. Dongzhi Festival

The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is a traditional Chinese festival

celebrated during the Dongzhi solar term, which falls between December 21 and
December 23.

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of
balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, it is believed that days will
have longer daylight hours and therefore create an increase in positive energy flowing
in.

In Chinese, the word "Dong" means "winter" while "Zhi" means "arrival" giving the
literal meaning of the festival "the coming of winter". Dongzhi celebrates the winter
solstice, usually around December 21 to 23, and is observed on the longest night of
the year. Symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, Dongzhi, represents that the
days will start to grow longer and bring a sense of balance and harmony to people's
lives. Based on Chinese beliefs of yin yang, "Yang" represents positive energy,
warmth, and light. Following the Dongzhi Festival, daytime will gradually lengthen, as
"Yang" will also increase. It was also believed by some that it was the day the Kitchen
God went to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor the conduct of a family.

The festival was first celebrated by the Chinese people during the Zhou Dynasty and
declared an official celebration during the Han Dynasty. The Han people would take a
break from work to celebrate with their families. They would hold heaven worshipping
as well as honoring their ancestors by burning joss paper at their ancestral shrines to
show gratitude. In ancient times, the day was also known as the "festival of extreme
length (Cháng Zhì Jié) as the sun's extreme position lengthens shadows. It was
traditionally a very important holiday, comparable to Chinese New Year.

The Chinese people still celebrate certain practices during the Dongzhi festival, such
as the union of family. In Hong Kong, many businesses let employees off early to
spend time with their families on this day, while in some areas shops close for the
holiday.In Suzhou, it is traditional to light incense at dawn.

The Dongzhi Festival has historically been associated with various agricultural
activities in China, particularly in rural areas. As the festival represents the winter
solstice, it is a crucial time to harvest winter crops, such as wheat, barley, and
radishes. It is also an important time to pay respect to certain livestock and feed these
animals special meals to celebrate the occasion.

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is a time for families to eat together. One activity
that occurs during these get-togethers (especially in the Asia and in Overseas Asian
communities) is the making and eating of tangyuan or balls of glutinous rice, which
symbolize reunion.Tangyuan are made of glutinous rice flour and are sometimes
coloured pink or green. Each family member receives at least one large tangyuan in
addition to several small ones. The flour balls are cooked in a sweet soup or savory
broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl. It is also often served
with jiuniang, a mildly alcoholic, unfiltered rice wine containing whole grains of
glutinous rice (and often also sweet osmanthus flowers).