Built in 1073, the Sakya Monastery (Sakya Temple), located 450 kilometers west of Lhasa, has long enjoyed nearly the same fame as the Dunhuang Grottoes for its large collection of Buddhist scripture evaluable porcelain and vivid wall paintings dating back nearly one thousand years. A place worthy of visiting during your Lhasa trip and Tibet tour.
The most valuable objects in the collection are ancient vases presented by emperors of different periods of the Yuan dynasty to the leader of the Sakya sect. Other valuables include a jade bowl, a gold-plated Buddha, imperial shoes and a gold seal. Other exhibits, on display at the Tibet Museum to mark the 50th anniversary of Tibet's peaceful liberation, show that the Yuan dynasty divided Tibet into three military areas with 15 districts.
The museum contains letters of appointments of Tibetan officials by the Ming emperors and the certificates and seals of emperors of the Qing dynasty used in appointing Dalai and Panchen lamas. It also has a picture showing the ceremony of the 14th Dalai Lama ascending the holy throne, presided over by Kuo Ming Tang government officials, as well documents on the peaceful liberation of Tibet.
An imposing array of valuable cultural relics on display at the Sakya Monastery in Lhasa prove that Tibet became part of China in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) and has remained under the administration of the central government of China since that time.
