The Eight Outer Temples in the city of Chengde in Hebei Province prove that Tibet has always been part of China. The Putuo Zongchengzhi Temple and Xumi Fushouzhi Temple are the most famous of these eight temples and they have witnessed the history of ethnic solidarity between Tibetans, Mongolians and Han Chinese.
In 1779, the sixth Panchan Lama decided to come from Tibet to celebrate Emperor Qianlong''s birthday.
The Chengde Summer Resort Museum has assembled many precious cultural relics. This beautiful drum has a fascinating history.
Sun Jixin, curator of Chengde Summer Resort Museum, said, "In 1780, Emperor Qianlong was celebrating his 70th birthday, and the sixth Panchan Lama came from Tibet to attend the ceremony. He gave this drum to the emperor as a birthday gift."
The temple was build in the image of the Panchan Lama's Tashilhunpo Monastery in Tibet.
In 1779, the sixth Panchan Lama decided to come from Tibet to celebrate Emperor Qianlong's birthday. When the emperor heard this, he immediately ordered a residence called Xumi Fushouzhi Temple to be built for the Panchan Lama. The temple was build in the image of the Panchan Lama's Tashilhunpo Monastery in Tibet.
Sun Jixin said, "The sixth Panchan Lama spent a year coming here, while the Emperor spent a year building this. The Panchan Lama lived in the temple for a month and three days before he went back to Tibet."
Emperor Qianlong actually built two temples for both the Panchan Lama and Dalai Lama. The Putuo Zongchengzhi Temple was for the eighth Dalai Lama.
The temple is in the style of the Potala Palace in Tibet, so it is also known as the lesser Potala.
The temple is in the style of the Potala Palace in Tibet, so it is also known as the lesser Potala.
But the eighth Dalai Lama was too young for the long journey, so he never saw the temple built for him.
Sun Jixin said, "The names Dalai and Panchan were given by the Emperors from the Yuan dynasty to the Ming dynasty. So we can see from this, that Tibet is a part of China."
The Eight Outer Temples together with the Chengde Summer Resort are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The temples were built to enhance the solidarity of people from different ethnic groups through religious belief. And the tradition of freedom of religious belief has been passed down.
