The Samye Monastery is a fine example of the Tibetan monastery. Originally three-storeyed, the third storey was removed in the last decade because it had been on the verge of collapse. Fortunately in one of the shrines on the second floor, there is a panoramic picture of Samye as it had been which showed the size and the position of the original monastery. It is said that the first floor was built by Tibetan craftsmen according to Tibet's own national pattern of architecture and the second floor was designed by monks of the Han nationality in the style of monasteries in central China. The third floor had ben built under the supervision of Indian monks, and hence it had borne the features of an Indian monastery.

Return to Tibet