Puran, the Peacock River valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains, is home to countless historical stories and myths; the romantic love story of Prince Northon and the fairy of Chaoram has been staged here; The Daraka Castle and the Xianberlin Monastery have flourished and fallen here; and the dark caves are buried with endless secrets.
01
The "Hanging Temple" in Tibet
Puran, the "place surrounded by snow-capped mountains" of Ali Sanwei. The county seat of Puran is located in the Peacock River Valley between Namunani Snow Peak and Abbey Peak, bordering Nepal and India.
Puran is an ancient city with mysterious colors, from ancient times to the present day, Ali to Nepal and India, for economic, cultural and religious exchanges, border trade has been more than 500 years old.
There are many dense cave sites on the cliffs near Puran County.
Due to the unique geological structure, the local mountain is very suitable for digging caves, the cave is not only warm in winter and cool in summer, living on the cliffs is condescending, but also can resist robbers. It is said that in the past, Nepalese and Indian merchants came to Ali's territory, and many people would stop in these caves. Today, Puran is a modern border trade city, most of the caves have long been abandoned, and only the Hanging Temple still uses the oldest caves.
After passing the border inspection, we soon came to the county seat of Pulan County. On the bridge outside the county seat, you can see that on the cliff wall on the other side of the Peacock River, there is a small temple and scattered caves, which is the iconic attraction of Pulan County- the Hanging Temple.
To go to the Hanging Temple, you have to pass by a small village on the other side of the Peacock River, which still retains the traditional gray and white Tibetan architecture. On the side of the road through the village is a mani stone wall, which is piled with a large number of cattle and sheep skulls, all painted red with mineral pigments.
After passing through the village is the Hanging Temple, the main body of the temple is built on the cliff wall, in addition to the main building with a golden roof, there are many closed caves. In fact, most of the temple's space is built in caves on the cliffs, and all you see from the outside is the passages and windows.
The hanging temple is called Gupur Temple, also known as the Ancient Palace. Because from the outside, the temple seems to hang on the cliff, so people are used to calling it the Hanging Temple.
The story of the Tibetan people's well-known "Prince Northang" takes place in Puran, in the romantic love story between Prince Nosan and the fairy of Yingchao Ram, it is from Gupur Monastery that Yingchao Ram flew to the heavenly court. The Purans have always prided themselves on being fellow countrymen of Prince Northon.
Entering the cave, I knew that there was no other cave inside, shuttling through the dark, sometimes horizontal, sometimes vertical cave, sometimes entering the wide hall, sometimes sideways in the narrow passage, and finally coming to the golden roof hanging on the cliff wall. This is the center of the temple, and perhaps the legendary location of the super Ram flying sky.
02
Xianbin Temple
After visiting the Hanging Temple, we will go to the ruins of Kenberlin Temple at the top of houshan Mountain.
Ruins always give people a special sense of mystery, and I have always had a strong desire to explore the ruins of ancient buildings, feeling that there are many secrets hidden in those ruins.
In 1681, Ganden Tsewang was ordered to expel the Ladakh forces occupying Ali, and after the war, in order to repent of the sin of killing, the Xianbin Monastery was built. It was the first Gelug temple established after the War between Tibet and Ladakh and is also a subordinate monastery of Drepung Monastery Indyen in Tibet.
Xianbin Temple was once the largest temple in ali area, and it is said that it has a magnificent temple complex, with a total of 250 halls and zakuras, including a large number of exquisite murals and statues, and more than 100 monks.
At the top of the hill, only the walls and foundations of the temple remain, and the last wall still has a faintly visible Shrine.
Even so, you can see how beautiful the temple was. In the middle of the ruins there is a new temple, which is less than 1/10 of the size of the ruins. Although some of the buildings were rebuilt, what was lost can never be recreated.
03
Cave exploration
We were about to make our way home when we suddenly noticed many caves scattered on the cliffs opposite. Some are located at the bottom of the cliff, some are suspended on the cliff wall, and some of the cave entrances are painted with red and white six-character mantras, which look like they are inhabited.
I suddenly remembered the 250 concubines of the legendary Prince Northan, who were said to live in caves near Puran.
My desire to explore has flared up again, and I suggest that you go to the "Cave of the Queen Concubine" to have a look. So everyone went down the hill along the faint path on the gravel slope of the back hill, came to the bottom of the cliff, and with curiosity, began an unplanned exploration of the cave.
We wanted to go to the cave painted with six mantras to see what was going on, but the entrance to the cave was not on the ground, but on the cliff wall, four or five meters from the ground.
There were several openings of different sizes next to the ground, and I had the courage to enter one of them, and the space inside was very large, and it was completely possible to stand, but it was empty, only the cave wall had a smoked black, which was the trace of someone's life.
We entered a small cave underneath the cave painted with the Six-Character Mantra and found a vertical patio leading up to it.
The design is very hidden, if you are not careful, you will be ignored, and you can't see this secret passage outside, and you can't help but marvel at the ingenious idea of the designer.
The patio is narrow enough to accommodate only the slender, and there are grooves in the walls of the patio that can be stepped on.
I was the first to climb to the upper floor, which was a cave kiln with red paint at the mouth. This cave is very spacious, there are holes in the holes, there are holes in the holes, and there are two units, each unit has a courtyard, and even there are Buddhist shrines and residual decorative patterns, revealing an atmosphere of luxury.
The walls of the cave were covered with thick smoke oil, still glowing with oil, and it looked like someone had lived here.
The entrance to the cave is facing the ruins of The Xianberlin Temple, and it is a special taste to photograph the ruins of the Xianbailin Temple from this angle. I couldn't help but think of a picture of a concubine who had been snubbed by the prince, looking up at the golden temple with endless sorrow, praying day after day for the prince's arrival.
We actually did not find any secrets in this cave exploration, most of them were speculations and associations, but we obtained different Puran images.
End the mythical Puran Exploration Tour and return to the real-life Puran.
Pulan is now a modern county town, where you have to take a good rest, take a hot bath, and then go to eat a big meal to save enough energy for the mountain.
Key Words: Hanging Temple, Cave
Best season: April to October
Best location: Among the many large and small caves, the cave painted with the six-character mantra is the largest and has a passage to enter, which is very suitable for shooting.
Experience sharing: This cave is located on a cliff wall 4 to 5 meters above the ground, which seems to be unattainable, but in fact, there is a small hole under the cave, and the top of the small cave has a vertical patio leading to the upper floor. The design is very discreet, easy to overlook, and this secret passage is completely invisible outside. Entering the cave, you can see the ruins of The Xianbailin Temple through the entrance of the cave, which is a good shooting angle. The cave is empty, and it can artificially create some mysterious atmosphere, such as lifting a handful of dust to create the effect of time confusion.
Equipment used: 135 full-frame digital cameras, 21mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses, tripods and light meters.
04
Shoot the sunrise in the village of Doyo
On the way to Puran, we planned to leave Puran in the morning to shoot the sunrise in the village of Doyou.
Early in the morning, everyone set off in a starry sky. Coming to the small bridge in the village of Doyou, the clouds in the sky began to turn red, and soon the sun was about to rise.
The snow-capped mountains in the distance are clearly visible and are ideal for good weather.
The camera was just ready, the first snowy mountain began to turn red, then the second, the third... In just one minute all the snow-capped mountains were exposed to sunlight.
However, the good times did not last long, and the snow-capped mountains were soon obscured by clouds, began to blur, and gradually disappeared into the clouds. Thankfully, we were able to keep that wonderful moment at the best of the light.
Amazingly, as the sun rises and the light shines over the villages and temples, our shoot ends in dramatic images.
Key Words: Doyou Village, Snow Mountain, Stupa
Best location: Near the border checkpoint and at the head of the bridge at the mouth of the village of Doyou Village, both are better locations to photograph snow-capped mountains and idyllic scenery.
Experience sharing: Puran is known as a "place surrounded by snow-capped mountains", and this feature can be fully felt near the village of Duoyou. Puran is lower in altitude than other places, the climate is warm and comfortable, and the Peacock River Valley is a fertile agricultural area with completely different scenery changes from season to season.
There is also a temple near the village of Doyo, and the two red stupas in the temple can be used as a finishing touch to the picture. It is best for sunrise and morning shooting, and when leaving Puran in the morning, shooting in this passing time is the best plan.
Equipment used: 135 full-frame digital cameras, 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses, tripods and light meters.
About the Author
Text: Zhao Lishan
Edit: Chunxiao
Editor-in-charge: Chen Li
Final Judge: Zhao Shuguang