People gather to dance to celebrate Losar, the New Year's Day in the Tibetan
calendar, at Caina Village of Qushui County in Lhasa, capital of southwest
China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 11, 2013. People of the Tibetan ethnic
group embraced the "Water Snake Losar", the New Year's Day in the Tibetan
calendar on Feb. 11. (Xinhua).
Trashi Dondrup got up at 4 a.m. on Monday for his shift as a security guard at
the entrance way of Pargor, Lhasa's major commercial street which encircles
Jokhang Temple.
Aided with security devices and computers, Dondrup and his colleagues
confiscated dangerous items like lighters from visitors.
"This is the first day of the Tibetan New Year. Large crowds of Buddhist
believers and tourists will flock here. We have to be careful in security checks
to ward off dangers," said the Tibetan man while keeping a smile for every
visitor.
Tibetans embraced the "Water Snake Losar" on Monday, which is New Year's
Day in the Tibetan calendar. The Tibetan New Year this year is only one day
apart from the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 10.
Celebrations of the Tibetan New Year usually last for 15 days.
Pasang, a driver of the No. 19 bus in Lhasa, said there were many more
people coming from rural areas of Tibet to the regional capital on Monday
compared to ordinary days.
The 38-year-old man expressed envy for those who can spin prayer wheels
and pay pilgrimages to temples in Lhasa. But because of his work, he only had
two days off during the New Year holiday.
"It should be a happy day for everybody. My best wish is to give
passengers a safe and fast bus journey," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Tsering Puntsog arrived at Jokhang Temple just as the day broke.
The 25-year-old Buddhist joined the long queue snaking slowly into the
temple to worship the statue of Shakyamuni.
Pungtsog offered ghee and "hada," a strip of raw silk and linen, to
Buddha while wishing for a prosperous and healthy New Year for his family.
"I understand that temples are the most crowded with people praying on
the first day of the New Year, but it has become a tradition in my family to
worship on this day," he explained.
Tibetans also took to the Internet to report on their New Year
experiences. A netizen with the screen name "Bu-Bi" said on Sina Weibo, China's
equivalent of Twitter, that it took him more than five hours to work his way
through the crowds and complete a visit to Jokhang Temple.
"Hekeledemaomaoyu" similarly tweeted that it took her four hours to
finish climbing the steps in front of Potala Place this morning, such were the
number of pilgrims and visitors to the site.
Tourists also posted on the website that many local restaurants in Lhasa
were closed on Monday. They could only fend off their hunger in fast food chain
stores.
Prayer flags can be seen everywhere in Lhasa, from temples to roofs of
folk houses.
Named "Lung-rta" in Tibetan language, a homophone for "Luck," the flags
are imprinted Buddhist scriptures. Tibetans believe that when the flags are
blown by wind, the scriptures are chanted at the same time.
Tibetans living elsewhere in the country also bought into the festive
spirit.
Dharma instruments were blared in Kumbum Monastery in Xining, capital of
Qinghai Province, on Monday morning, as Tibetan believers spinning prayer wheels
chanted sutras as they walked around the temple in worship.