Ganden Sumtseling Monastery at dusk
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The Ganden Sumtseling Monastery is often referred to as the Little Potala given its resemblance to the Dalai Lama’s original home, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. I have not yet visited there but Sumtseling, in Shangri-La on the western edge of China was a very meaningful place for me. I spent the morning exploring the complex and listening to the resident monks chanting in one of the great halls housed under the golden roofs. In the afternoon, I wandered around the lake that sits at the foot of the monastery. In the image above, I framed Sumtseling against the darkening sky whose clouds were gently catching some of the color ahead of sunset. The hill in the mid ground, above the light green trees, hides the small village that sits under the monastery and serves to keep the magnificent complex uncluttered from this view.
Christopher Martin Photography 