Zuglakang Monastery in LhasaZuglakang Monastery in Lhasa is a representative of temples built on flatlands. The monast6ry began construction in the seventh century, with extensions over the centuries, and it is preserved to this day. The gate of the monastery faces west and is close to Barkor Street which encircles Zuglakang Monastery. Everyday, believers make a clockwise circular perambulation to show respect for the Buddha. Walking through a doorway with a porch, across a thousand-Buddha verandah, one finds the Johkang Hall, the main hall of the Zuglakang Monastery. Johkang Hall is in a plane, square shape, with four layers on all sides, partitioned into small Buddhist halls. The Buddhist hall on the axis houses the statue of Sakyamuni brought by Princess Wencheng, In another Buddhist hall, there are the statues of Srong-brtsan-sgam-po, Princess Wencheng and Princess Chizun from Nepal. The center is a large space leading up to three floors with a flat top. There is a gilded copper roof on the middle of each of the four sides of the fourth floor. Its figure is modeled after the structure of the Han nationality, and there is a truncated turret on each of the four corners. Outside the front gate of the monastery is a small encircled yard inside which there is a willow tree said to have been planted by Princess Wencheng, as well as the Fanhui League Monument of the Tang Dynasty and a monument designed to persuade people to accept vaccination. The gate of the Zuglakang Monastery, the Thousand-Buddha Verandah and the Johkang Hall, plus the small encircled yard, seem to play the role of a screen wall, and together constitute an axial symmetric space series. The encircled yard and the concave temple gate form a small square in front of the monastery, which is the starting-point of the series. The Thousand-Buddha Verandah is wide and spacious, while the Johkang Hall is closed and inhibited, providing a stark contrast. The golden roof of the Johkang Hall is full of distinguishing features: short eaves are arranged surrounding the top of the entire square outer wall to bind up the whole hall, and extend outward from the four golden-top halls that create a multi-eaved effect. Additionally, with the set-off of the turret, the image is particularly rich and beautiful. Sha-lu MonasterySha-lu Monastery in the southeast of Xigaze was first built in 1087during the Song Dynasty. Sha-lu means tender leaf, perhaps containing the meaning of the rejuvenation of Buddhism. The original monastery was destroyed by earthquake, but was rebuilt at the end of the 1athcentury during the Yuan Dynasty. In the center of the ground floor is the main hall Sha-lu La-kang. It is a square, large scripture hall, the flat-top of the center part protruding. Light streams in through the skylight between the high and low flat-tops. This layout was later called the "Du-khang method", and was commonly used by the Ming and Qing dynasties. The left, right and back sides of the scripture hall are closely encircled by several Buddhist halls, and a ring of winding corridors are added to the outer side. Monks can take a right-hand walk and chant scripture in the corridor. The second floor is a siheyuan (courtyard with houses on all sides)encircled by four purely Han-style halls. According to ancient Tibetan documents, when the Sha-lu Lakang was built, many skilled Han craftsmen were invited, therefore forming an early Tibetan/Han mixed style. In the early 15th century (early Ming Dynasty), the eminent monk TSongkhapa from Qinghai introduced religious reform in Tibet and created the Gelug-pa or Yellow Hat sect It eventually gained the upper hand not only in religion, but also in politics. He constructed six famous major temples of the Yellow Hats, which are also the largest temples of Tibetan Buddhism, Such as the Lhasa Ganden Monastery (14O9), Bras-spungs Monastery (1416), Sara Monastery (1419), Tashilungpo in Xigaze(1447), Tar Monastery in HuangZhong of Qinghai (156O), and Blabrang Monastery in Xiahe of Gansu (1709). They were all built at the foot of mountains, represented by Blabrang Monastery Blabrang MonasteryBlabrang Monastery is located in an oval basin elongated east and west, with a river on the southern fringe. Main buildings are arranged at the foot of Beishan Mountain. Tall buildings were constructed near the foot of hill at the center of the whole monastery, such as scripture hall, Buddhist halls and Living Buddha mansions. Small yards with residences for ordinary monks occupy the largest area, crowded on the three sides east, south and west. The outermost part is a Buddhist wheel-turning corridor with 50O-odd rooms encircling the monastery on three side. The monastery is dotted with streets and lanes, resembling a small town. Blabrang Monastery is centered on the largest Wensi Institute. The Wensi Institute is arranged along the vertical axis from the front to the back from front gate, front courtyard, scripture hail with verandah and towering back-hall close to the scripture hall. Arranged inside the scripture hall are square grid columns, dense beams and flat-top. Like Sha-lu Monastery, the flat-top in the center rises up. All the back wall contains Buddhist niches. There are scripture cabinets near the back part of the left and right walls; other walls are covered with murals. The floors, columns and flat-tops are all covered with fabrics, tangka (a kind of silk scroll drawn with Buddhist portrait),while sutra streamers hang down everywhere. The space is low, deep and wide, and the atmosphere is heavy; the weak butter oil lamp glitters in the golden ritual implement, giving of f a mystical color climbing the flight of stairs at the back wall of the scripture hall, one can enter the back hall. This is partitioned into several rooms erected respectively with Buddhist statues, stupa where the remains of Living Buddhas of all ages are buried and the Dharmapala god with a ferocious image. The hall is not deep, but is very high. The front wall protrudes above the truncated roof of the scripture hall. The tall windows are open, but the light only reaches the head and chest of the Buddhist statue, adding to the mystical atmosphere. On the flat-top of the scripture hall, the second floor is on the height stretching along the left, right and front edges; facing inward are corridors or rooms. The sides of the scripture hall rise gradually from the front to the back, with a strong kinetic potential and rhythm and an extroverted character. The Buddhist hall is second only to the scripture hall, and is often built on the elevation of the slope, making it appear more imposing. Gild roof small halls of the Han style are often built on the top floor. In its heyday, there were 30 mansions for Living Buddhas in the Blabrang Monastery, but now only about a dozen or so remain. These are two-or three-storied plane rectangular buildings with a truncated roof. The Surface of the outer walls are generally painted red, and only the walls of mansions for eminent monks are painted yellow.