Staff at Potala Palace carrying out painting work.[Photo/Xinhua]

Staff at Potala Palace carrying out painting work.[Photo/Xinhua]

Staff at Potala Palace carrying out painting work.[Photo/Xinhua]

Every year in autumn and winter season, Potala Palace begins its annual painting work. Staff at Potala Palace Management office and believers spontaneously take part in the work.

Potala Palace was built on Maburi Mountain and is divided into the Red Palace and White Palace. It is a palace, temple and pagoda all in one. It is a vast group of palace-style buildings with thousands of rooms, covering an area of more than 130,000 square meters. In 1994 Potala Palace was chosen as a World Heritage Site. 

Potala Palace doesn’t see the warm sun in early winter, but groups of believers still walk up the mountain one after another carrying plastic buckets. As they reach halfway, there is already a long queue as they talk and laugh, occasionally raising their heads to look around. With the help of these believers, annual painting of Potala Palace begins.

According to convention, every year after Lhasa’s rainy season, painting work on Potala Palace’s outer wall begins and must be completed before the God-Descending Day on 22nd September of the Tibetan calander.

On the 27th maintenance chief of Potala Palace Management Office, Yu Da, said that painting work had already been going on for more than a week and that, according to the Palace’s correct order (White, Red, then Yellow Palace), painting work would take place on the Yellow Palace that morning. Due to the outer walls of the Yellow Palace covering a smaller area, less time and paint would be required. “This is one of the reasons why believers start to queue earlier; otherwise they won’t receive any paint."

After half an hour of waiting, Pasang Dolma and his parents finally manage to fill their plastic buckets with paint. They carefully pick up their buckets and start work as paint "carriers". Pasang Dolma told the reporter that they’ve already been helping at Potala Palace for three days and have walked back and forth on the same familiar sidewalk, in order to deliver paint to the painters.

Sonam Tashi, 53, lays his plastic bucket down and leans against the corner of the sidewalk to have a rest. A speck of unwashed red paint stands out as it sits on the tip of his pointed nose. He notices that the reporter had spotted it and holds out his red hand laughing and rubs his nose, telling the reporter he managed to paint himself while helping paint the Red Palace the day before. Then he pats his Tibetan robe, which is covered in paint similar to a canvas. This was the first time Sonam Tashi had taken part in painting Potala Palace.

Sonam Tashi used to live in Nagqu Prefecture northern Tibet with his eight children, but due to family conditions, the four older children became herders. Following the continuous development of education in Tibet, Sonam became aware of the importance of education. Three years ago, in order to allow his remaining four children to continue studying and receive a good education, he and his wife moved to Lhasa from Nagqu.

The 27th is the last day of Potala Palace’s painting work. After the painting has finished, the Potala Palace Management Office will open up part of the palace especially for believers, so that they can worship. "Nowadays, we herdsmen have good living conditions and everything we want, so I will pray for world peace and for my children to grow up healthily," said Sonam.

Yuda explained that, during the painting process, paint for the White Palace is made by adding the appropriate amount of milk and white sugar. This adds to the stickiness of the paint, making it easier to apply to the wall, so that it won’t be washed away easily when rainy season arrives – it protects the wall as well as looking pleasing on the eye. After completion of the main painting work, doors, windows and other details must still be painted and repaired.