Shegar (New Tingri)
Shegar was once the capital of the Tingri
region of Tibet. Shegar is a typical mix
of the old and the new that that is common
throughout Tibet. The modern Chinese buildings,
most of them shops, lie along a single concrete
road on the flat plain below, while older
white-washed buildings climb the hillside
up to a monastery about a third of the way
up.
The ruins of Shegar Dzong, the crystal fortress, are on top of the
hill overlooking the town. It’s well
worth the walk up the numerous steps to see
the ruins and the fantastic views over the
town and the surrounding hills.
At the base of the Dzong is the Shegar Chode Monastery, the only monastery of the Gelugpa sect
in this area. Founded in the 13th century,
it began life as a series of meditation cells
for Buddhist monks, only later developing
into a fully-fledged monastery in the 17th
century under the guidance of the Fifth Dalai
Lama. In this vibrant period of its history,
it housed hundreds of monks, had its own
printing centre and amassed a vast library
of woodblock texts. Tragically, the monastery
was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution,
but some buildings and chapels have been
restored.
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