Constructive Detailed Planning of the front Square of Ta’er Lamasery

Ta’er Lamasery is the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is an important tourist and pilgrimage site for Buddhist culture in the world. It is also a national key cultural relic protection unit and a national 5A scenic spot. In order to better protect national cultural relics and implement the overall urban planning, the Housing and Urban-Rural Planning and Construction Bureau of Huangzhong County, Xining City, Qinghai Province commissioned Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC) to collect the Excellent Plan of "Constructive Detailed Planning of Ta’er Lamasery (Front Area) Square" on December 4, 2017. After being selected by the Bid Evaluation Committee, Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) won the first place, and proposed the direction for the government carrying out in-depth development work.

Constructive Detailed Planning of Ta’er Lamasery (Front Area) Square is designed to focus on "protection first, respect priority, reasonable utilization, effective implementation", study and protect the space landscape pattern of the Ta’er Lamasery's sacred sites, respect and carry forward the construction tradition of Tibetan Buddhism to conform to nature, use simplest expression to interpret the really true state of simplicity, and create a blissful pure land with “luxuriant mountain flowers in full bloom, empty and spiritual mountains and valleys”. In addition, it is required to consider the overall landscape environment in a larger area, and build a world pattern of the flower-hiding "eight-petal lotus". The design of the venue focuses on "reducing complexity to simplicity" and shaping the "empty" pure world. In addition, we use the quotation of the poems of Master Tsongkhapa to inject the divine soul into the site.

In the planning and design of the site, special attention is paid to the comprehensive consideration of the religious activities, the monk life, the inheritance of religious culture and art, and the need for tourism openness of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries with a small social nature: the creation of multi-purpose venues, and the response to the dual requirements of pilgrimage and peaceful pilgrimage; explore the simplest way to solve the organizational problem of tourist flow in the off-peak season, and consolidate economic, social and natural benefits into an integrated sacred space.