This year's May Day holiday, Lhasa's Qushui Zoo came two elephants, as the spirit beasts in the Buddhist teachings, presumably they will become the "net red animals" in the hearts of Lhasa citizens, but in fact, as early as the 1930s, there was an elephant in Lhasa, and the elephant pictured in the picture was a gift from the king of Nepal to the 13th Dalai Lama.
Since the defeat of the Gurkha army in Nepal by the Qing army, Nepal has paid tribute to Lhasa and Beijing on time, and it is said that two elephants, one male and one female, were paid tribute at that time. The male died on the way, while the female arrived in Lhasa as an emissary.
Lhasa attaches great importance to the care of the elephant, sends special caretakers to feed it, and builds a house for the elephant on a small island in the Dragon King Pond behind the Potala Palace.
The elephant was mainly involved in religious activities at the time. For example, religious parades and the like.
Elephants are the spirit beasts of the Buddhist teachings, and every time they appear, they must cause a sensation throughout the city of Lhasa.
People are always fond of this behemoth from the tropics, even reverently bowing.
The elephant lived alone in the plateau until the 1960s. In 1957, an elephant draped in Buddhist scriptures and ritual vessels walked toward the Lhasa Prayer Festival, which was quite eye-catching.