Urban construction in Tibet is, in essence, an issue of economics and culture. It is also part of the lifeline of development. It is my view that tourism is the linchpin of regional development.

Tibet is richly endowed with tourist resources, endowed with the mysticism of Tibetan Buddhism and folklore. Development of tourism calls for corresponding development of urban construction. The latter should be a major part of tourism; without it, development of tourism can never truly flourish.

The Central Government follows the policy of freedom of religious belief in Tibet. And the PRC Constitution protects such freedom and respects the customs and habits of the Tibetan race. Whether the freedom is really protected and whether the customs and habits are really respected depend on how a city expands in size. Urban construction in Tibet should embody freedom of religious belief. Therefore, urban expansion should be steeped in an atmosphere of religious activities. In a city, there should be Mani mounds and incense burners, while sutra streamers should flutter in squares and on buildings along the streets. This is testimony to religious belief and also a city scene unseen in other parts of China.



Tibet has longstanding traditions. All the buildings are steeped in Tibetan culture and stand against the backdrop of blue skies. Whether we can continue to see this after the expansion of cities will be decided by whether we have inherited and protected the Tibetan culture.

In the last 10 years or more, many buildings have appeared at the foot of the Potala Palace. They should have a combined construction area of 5 million square meters. This illustrates the many changes in the social and economic fields in Tibet. However, some of the buildings are not in harmony with the surroundings in terms of traditional features.

Plateau scenery should be the first eye-catching feature in Tibet. When one crawls out of a plane, he/she should be extremely impressed by snow-covered mountains, grasslands, lakes, rivers, blue skies and other things that cannot be found in other parts of China. Urban expansion should, therefore, involve careful attention to the background.

Unfortunately, the new additions to Lhasa hide this natural scenery. The Lhasa River is very attractive, but for a dozen kilometers of travel along the newly built Jiangsu and Jinzhu Roads it cannot be seen. One can see it only from the Lhasa-Gonggar Airport Highway. Many new buildings block one’s view of the mountain peaks. Architects should try to make the mountains greener and skiers bluer when designing new buildings.



Tibetan tradition has it that Tibetan-style buildings were built along mountain slopes and in plains. They were all built using stone and wood. In terms of function, they were monasteries and civilian housing and manorial buildings; in terms of style, they were diversified. They crystallize the material and cultural lives of the Tibetans.

My view is that new buildings should be built in four ways: (1) they should carry forward the traditional architectural style of Tibet; (2) they should not be too high and too large in size (traditional housing are of one or two stories); (3) they should mainly be coated white as the Tibetans worship the white color, which they deem auspicious and denoting peace; (4) they should also be built along the mountain slopes and rivers.

Buddhist culture is also a salient feature of urban construction. Nowadays, there are some 1,700 monasteries and temples in the region, and every family has a shrine for statues of Buddha. If sutra streamers are hung from new buildings flanking the streets, the Tibetans will be satisfied, and the cities will gain a typical Tibetan feature. In addition, Mani mounds, which can be found throughout the Tibetan countryside, should also be built in cities. This will facilitate citizens to walk around it in a religious way and the cities will gain fresh flavor.



Given the fact that social life in Tibet is closely associated with Tibetan Buddhism, urban expansion should facilitate religious celebrations. When the Buddha painting is unfolded in the Jokhang Monastery, there will be tens of thousands of viewers and worshippers. Similar religious activities call for squares and lawns, completed with benches and drinking water facilities. I was told there are more than 100 religious activities in Tibet. This shows the importance of such squares and related.

Selected from China's Tibet
BY XU ZONGWEI