Norbulingka Summer Palace Norbulingka, which means “Treasure Park”, was once the summer palace of the Dalai Lama with many lakes as well as the tallest, largest and most beautiful gardens in the Tibetan plateau. Originally built with just a palace in the 1740s after the 7th Dalai Lama discovered the beauty of this wilderness and remoteness, after nearly 300 years and through many generations of the Dalai Lama Lama, the complex includes 5 palaces: Tsokyil, Kelsang, Takten Migyur, Golden Linka and Lake Heart. The palace has more than 370 rooms and 30,000 cultural relics to explore. Highlights include the Temple of the Dragon King, New Palace murals, Han-style pavilions, the Tibet Museum, and Norbulingka Zoo. Yerpa Nestled on the slopes of Dagze, Yerpa is a series of ancient caves, temples and chapels carved into the limestone cliffs of the Yerpa Valley. These caves were very important in pre-Buddhist times and later became a meditation site for famous Buddhist figures such as Songtsen Gampo, Padmasambhava and Atisha. Today, the slopes are covered in multicolored prayer flags. Yerpa is mainly visited by Tibetan pilgrims, but the fresh air and rural landscape are well worth a visit. Tibet Museum The Tibet Museum is the official museum and the first modern museum of Tibet. Housed in the Norbulingka Summer Palace, it houses more than 520,000 relics and antiquities, ranging from Chinese pottery to ancient Buddhist statues. Built in 1994 with typical Tibetan and Chinese architectural styles, the museum opened in late 1999. Don’t miss the decorative beams and wall hangings in the Prelude gallery, and folk art. Tibetan folklore from handicrafts, costumes to jewelry. Ganden Monastery Overlooking the Kyi-chu valley on the slopes of Mount Wangbur and comprising more than 50 buildings, Ganden Monastery is one of the oldest and largest Gelugpa Buddhist monasteries ever built. The monastery was founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa, the master of the Yellow Hat sect in Tibetan Buddhism. When he died a decade later, his mummy was buried in a tomb covered with silver and gold. The monastery was attacked during the 1959 rebellion and then shot by Red Guard artillery in 1966, Tsongkhapa’s remains were destroyed. Today, Ganden is one of the three great monasteries of Lhasa. Don’t miss the annual Buddha Painting Festival in June and Ganden Kora, a 45-minute pilgrimage around the sanctuary with incredible views over the Lhasa River. Drepung Monastery Surrounded by mountains on all three sides, Drepung Monastery consists of pagodas and chapels painted in yellow and red along the slopes of the Gambo Utse mountain. With an impressive 600-year history, Drepung Monastery was once the largest and most powerful monastery in Tibet, and was also home to more than 10,000 monks in its heyday. Currently there are only 300 people, but this is still one of the 3 great monasteries of Lhasa. Currently Drepung contains 7 universities including: Deyang, Gomang, Shagkor, Loseling, Gyelwa, Dulwa, Ngagpa and Tosamling, each teaching a different school of Tibetan Buddhism. Visitors can discover 500-year-old Buddha statues as well as spectacular antique murals, porcelain and paintings here. Barkhor Road Located in the old town of Lhasa, Barkhor Street is an ancient circular street that loops around the Jokhang Temple. Built in 647 by the first king of Tibet Songtsen Gampo, the path was formed at the feet of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims. Paved with polished stone slabs flanked by traditional shops selling Tibetan knives, prayer wheels and Tibetan scrolls, Barkhor Street is one of Lhasa’s most popular tourist attractions. Sera Monastery Located at the foot of Mount Pubuchok, Sera Monastery is one of the 3 great monasteries of Lhasa. It was named Sera, which means wild rose, after the hillside covered with roses was chosen to build the monastery. Today, with its tree-lined cobblestone walkways, it remains one of the most beautiful monasteries in Tibet. Founded in 1419, Sera Monastery is dedicated to the golden hat line of Tibetan Buddhism. During its heyday, it had 5 colleges and 5,000 monks. Jokhang Temple Jokhang Temple, also known as Jokhang Monastery, is the spiritual center of Tibet. Located in the heart of the old town, surrounded by Barkhor Road – the holiest pilgrimage route for Tibetan pilgrims. First built in the Tubo period, Jokhang Temple is the oldest and most sacred structure in Lhasa, with 3,000 images of Buddha and other deities. It has been rebuilt and expanded many times and has a harmonious blend of Chinese, Indian and Nepali-influenced architectural styles. Don’t forget to admire the jewel-encrusted Sakyamuni statue, Tibet’s most sacred statue, and climb to the rooftop for captivating views of the pilgrimage trail and the Potala palace. Potala Palace Perched on the slopes of the Red Mountain, the Potala Palace is the tallest ancient palace in the world. Having served as the winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century, the Potala (meaning High Heaven) is also the seat of the Tibetan government and a major military fortress. Originally built as Srong-brtsan-sgam-po’s palace on Mount Potala, it was demolished and rebuilt on its current site in 1645 – chosen to be located near the Great Monastery Lhasa. Today, this majestic red and white palace has more than 1,000 rooms, including the living space of the Dalai Lama, the ceremony room, the throne, and the gilded burial stupas of the former Dalai Lama.

Where do skyscrapers come from? Historically, high-rise buildings have been the place to preserve the value of a great religion or empire. For example, the Giza pyramid complex – built to house the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu – used to be more than 145 meters high. It was the tallest man-made structure for nearly 4,000 years, before being surpassed by the 160-meter-tall Lincoln Cathedral in the 14th century. Other ancient structures such as the Potala Palace of Tibet or the monasteries of Athos were all built on top of the mountain, with man’s ambition to touch closer to heaven. However, according to CNN, the definition of “high-rise building”, the forerunner of skyscrapers, was only really born in the 20th century. Famous architect Richard Rogers once said that the 20th century was unified. Ruled by innovation and science, with powerful impacts in every sector, including construction. According to Carol Willis, director of New York’s Skyscraper Museum, in the late 1800s, industrialization pushed urban populations and land prices up, prompting large-capacity buildings to be built in Limited space becomes the optimal solution to save costs. Meanwhile, the American technological revolution from 1880 to 1890 saw an explosion of new inventions, helping architects to build taller, stronger buildings. The birth of the Bessemer steelmaking method allowed the design of the frame to be taller and more flexible than the cast iron of the previous era. The newly invented water system has helped buildings to break the strict 23 meter height limit that was in place to control fire risk. In particular, the patent for AC power has allowed electric elevators to operate at a height of up to 10 floors. Thanks to that, in the 1880s, the first generation of skyscrapers officially appeared in Chicago and New York. Thanks to that, America, the land of dreams, is believed to be the birthplace of modern skyscrapers. Architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler first coined the term “high-rise office building” in 1896. Accordingly, based on Renaissance architecture, the buildings were built up to 10 floors. with the first two floors being the main hall and stalls, some services located in the basement, the upper floors “stacked”, ending with a roof or attic placed on top, with a piping system. vertical conductor linking the building to the power source, heat. Later, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) maintained a set of criteria for defining tall buildings, defining it as a multi-storey structure designed for residential and commercial use. or manufacturing operations. Built after the great fire of 1871, the 12-story Home Insurance building in Chicago – completed in 1884 by William Le Baron Jenney – is now considered the first high-rise of the industrial era. In the next 100 years since the inauguration of the Home Insurance building, the United States has always been the “gathering” of the world’s tallest buildings. In New York alone, the world’s tallest building record was broken six times between 1908 and 1931 – with the height of the structures having doubled, from the Singer Building to the Building Empire State. Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world today, a symbol of the pinnacle of modern skyscraper architecture. Photo: CNN. Why do skyscrapers exist? After just over a century, domination of the “skyscraper” market has gradually shifted from the US to the Eastern Hemisphere. Malaysia was the first country to break the US record for the tallest buildings in the world when the Petronas Twin Towers were completed in 1998. The Taipei 101 building of Taiwan, China is the next building to hold this record, starting in 2004. Currently, the 163-storey Burj Khalifa, which rises more than 800 meters above the Dubai sky, has become the New symbol of the world’s skyscrapers arena. CNN points out that, more than the purpose of building offices or houses, more than demonstrating the economic and technological levers that profoundly affect construction architecture, skyscrapers like Petronas or Burj Khalifa are also is a symbol for “I” – a measure of brand value. In a report presented at the 2007 CIB World Tall Buildings Conference, expert Eldemery Ibrahim said that the development of tall buildings is also a symbol of power, status, and prestige. As analyst Sorkin in his Architectural Record once wrote, “the historic race to the sky reveals the contrast of tradition and modernity, influencing ‘structure’, even culture, and politics. of a land”. Not only that, the official website of the Burj Khalifa Building, confidently asserts: “Not only is the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa is also an unprecedented example of international cooperation, a symbol of prosperity. progressive and a symbol of a new, dynamic and prosperous Middle East. More than that, it is tangible evidence of Dubai’s growing role in a changing world.” Also, today, it is a fact that not all the space inside the skyscrapers is used. The term “vanity height” was coined by CTBUH in 2013 to describe just that, describing the height difference between the top of a skyscraper and the highest usable floor. According to CTBUH, about 29% of the area of ​​the Burj Khalifa Building has a frivolous height. Nine other high-rise buildings in the US, China and the UAE also had a height unavailable ratio of 28% to 36%. According to CTBUH, 61% of the world’s skyscrapers would lose their super-tall building status without this frivolous height. This makes the media, including many big names like BBC, Daily Telegraph and some architectural experts doubt the necessity of building skyscrapers, when it does not necessarily meet the purpose. Initially, the high-rise buildings aimed at serving people’s needs. However, a remark made by architect Louis Sullivan in 1896 somewhat overturned these doubts: “What is the principal characteristic of a high-rise office building? It was lofty arrogance. That should be the height. Power and strength must be there, aura and arrogance must be there. It has to be a proud subject and soars to every inch, straight from bottom to top as a single unit without a single line of deviance.” The number of skyscrapers will decrease in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: CNN. New definition of “skyscrapers” in life “new normal”? In 2014, the world entered a period of boom in the number of skyscrapers, with nearly 100 buildings over 200 meters tall being built. According to research site The Towel Info, in recent years, developed countries have emerged as centers of new generation high-rise buildings, especially in urban areas of Japan or China, where An inch of land is more precious than gold. According to CTBUH, 191 “ultra-tall” skyscrapers – a term that describes buildings at least 300 meters tall – have been completed. Although skyscrapers started out as an American phenomenon, the Middle East and Asia – especially China – currently dominate the skyscraper construction market. CTBUH data shows that China accounts for more than half of all new skyscrapers built in 2020 that are 200 meters or more in height, while Dubai has more new skyscrapers by far than any other city. other. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be slowing down the racing track of skyscrapers, because the higher the number of floors, the higher the construction cost. According to CNN, all buildings reach a limit where adding an extra floor will cost more to build than it will make in profit. William Clark and John Kingston – two economists and architects – once asserted in 1930 that the maximum profit height for a skyscraper in New York in 1920 was no more than 63 stories. Thus, buildings that exceed the ceiling height (from time to time) will show that investors are overestimating the profits that can be obtained from the construction of new buildings. So far, that’s still true. For the same reason, in 2020, the number of new skyscrapers built globally will decrease by more than 20%. CTBUH attributed this drop to COVID-19, when projects around the world were “paused” because of the persistently imposed blockade and distance orders. “As tall buildings often depress economic indicators, any impact that economic conditions or market disruptions might have on projects that are just starting, or under construction in 2020, will be visible,” said CTBUH. “It must be remembered that the economic crisis of 2008 was not hastily reflected, but the decline in building construction was only recorded until 2010 and 2011,” the CTBUH report said, warning. about the risk of delay, even stopping the progress of a series of skyscrapers due to the decrease in investment capital because of the pandemic. However, CNN still believes that the records of skyscrapers will continue to be broken, because their value lies not only in return on investment, but also in prestige and brand. “The role of skyscrapers is divided into two halves,” explains Hong Kong-based architect Simon Chan, because “every city wants to have a landmark that offers a distinct cultural feel, rather than a settlement. mere material needs”.