The main hall of Gongga Qude Temple

The Songtsam Group, the award-winning collection of boutique hotels, resorts & tours in the Tibet & Yunnan Provinces of China is in a joint project with The Palace Museum, Gongga Qude Temple, to reprint an exquisite album entitled Murals of Gongga Qude Temple: A Milestone in the History of Tibetan Buddhist Art. Songtsam Founder and Chairman Baima Duoji noted that the purpose of the project is to “make the beauty of these historic murals, vivid carriers of Tibetan Buddhist art and culture, available to more people.” The album was first published in 2015, but due to limited funds, only a few books were printed, which were donated to various temples, universities, research institutes and others who were interested in the murals. The new reprint is composed of the digitized images of the murals of Gongga Qude Temple. Some of the murals have been re-photographed and added to this new edition of the album.

“Murals of Gongga Qude Temple: A Milestone in the History of Tibetan Buddhist Art”

Gongga Qude Temple, 60 kilometers (approx. 37.2 miles) outside of Lhasa (Tibet) and an important temple of Tibetan Buddhism, is like a museum frozen in time. Baima Duoji commented “Every Songtsam guest, as they travel from Lhasa Airport to the Songtsam Linka Retreat Lhasa, passes the Gongga Qude Temple, yet few people know that there is an ancient temple on the roadside.” The murals are a rare work of art, and it is a remarkable stroke of luck that after 600 years, the lines and colors painted by the masters can still be seen today. The Gongga Qude Temple Tour has now become an important part of the Songtsam Lhasa experience and an excellent “starting” point for guests to enter the spiritual world of the local people.

Restoration of the murals of Gongga Qude Temple

Baima concluded that “Songtsam hopes that the reprinting of this ancient Album will support Songtsam’s efforts to preserve the culture, so that the beauty of these lands can be known, understood, even appreciated and touched by people from around the world.”