(TibetanReview.net, Dec29’22) – The Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, considered the holiest in Tibet, reopened to the public on Dec 27 after being closed for more than four months amid the Covid-19 pandemic, reported China’s official chinadaily.com.cn Dec 28. It followed the reopening earlier of other monasteries in Lhasa, including Sera, Drepung and Ganden, and the Samye monastery in Lhokha, the report said.
Temples and monasteries have been the first places to be shut down in Tibet Autonomous Region in any kind of Chinese government precautionary measure. And they have been the last of public places to be reopened after the resumption of normal life there with the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions.
The report said pilgrims and visitors lined up before the temple’s main entrance on Dec 28 morning.
“I will tell the good news to my relatives in my hometown. I think it’s going to be a big surprise for them,” the report quoted Dorje Tashi, a Tibetan resident from Qinghai province, as saying.
The report said visitors will need to make reservations and study the visiting procedures on the temple’s public WeChat account one day ahead. It added that local visitors were not subjected to the reservation requirements.