The Derge Parkhang, Derge Sutra Printing Temple, is the institution printing and preserve Tibetan Literature and Buddhist's works. It is an important cultural and historical center in Tibet. It is renowned as "the encyclopedia of Tibetan culture" or "Cultural pearl at the foot of Snow Mountain". This Buddhist shrine has been a national heritage since 1996, with a total cover of 9000 square meters. It was first built in 1729, and today it is still under function. Books and sutras are printed every day. Hand-made wood locks and cinnabar are used in the printing process. Construction of Derge Parkhang is with an ancient Kham style: flat roof and red walls. The Parkhang is also regarded as a sacred site by Tibetan Buddhists. Groups of Buddhists would be doing a temple kora from morning till evening every day.
Derge Parkhang
Derge Parkhang
Derge Parkhang
Gonchen Monastery or Derge Monastery, one of the mother monasteries of the Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, is a monastery complex located in the town of Derge first built in the 17th century based on a sutra hall of the king of Dege. It was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in 1967 and renovated in 1988. Gonchen Monastery is famous for its Saman dancing. It has a tradition that not like other monasteries in Tibet, this monastery is not run by a living Buddha but the son of Dege king. Usually the first son of the king will be put in charge of the monastery and the second son of the king will inherit the kingship.
Dege, or Derge, is an old town situated in the valley in west Sichuan mountain area first bloomed during Tang Dynasty in 800AD when the "Tea-Horse Road" was established. It is one of the three cultural centers of Tibetan Region(the other two being Lhasa of Tibet and Labrang of Gansu Province). It is home to many masters of Tibetan Medicine and the biggest sutra printing center in the whole Tibet. It is the home of ancient Kham of Tibet and many important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.
