SITTING at 3,600 meters above sea level, a residential area in Lhasa hides the only mandala (a symbolic Buddhist symmetrical structure) building in Tibet Autonomous Region. Used to be the Jebum-gang Lha-khang temple and then a granary for decades, it is crammed with tourists in pursuit of modern art.

The Jebum-gang Art Center just celebrated its one-year anniversary at the end of July. Since the art center is located along a bustling business street and residential area in Lhasa, the sound of local vendors selling their wares constantly echoes at the foot of the high steps of the sacred building.

Locals have witnessed the changes of this breathtaking example of Buddhism architecture. “The local government presented us with some new thoughts on what functions the renovated building can bring to the public,” said Zhang Junyan, curator of the Jebum-gang Art Center and head of the renovation team Tihho Art.

The Jebum-gang Lha-khang temple was built during the second half of the 19th century when Lhasa was under the threat of British invasion. The local leader decided to build this Buddhist building to help defend the city against a potential attack and “as a talisman to strengthen people’s sense of unity against foreign enemies through religion,” added Zhang.

This is not the first time such an approach has been taken. For example, the world-famous Yungang Grottoes were established by the order of an emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) to quell ethnic conflicts through the spread of Buddhism.

Since 1996, architecture expert Andre Alexander has been involved in the planning and implementation of conservation and restoration projects in Tibet, where he and his team had accessed and documented many Buddhist artworks and buildings from the 7th century to the 21st century.

In his book “The Temples of Lhasa,” he called the Jebum-gang Lha-khang temple “one of the most exciting” historical buildings in Tibet. The three-story temple was built in a strict symmetrical pattern. The first floor hallway was built in a zigzag pattern. When the wind blows, the wind chimes hanging around the temple could be heard from a faraway distance. Many locals still tell stories about how the sound of melodious bells from the temple would reverberate throughout Lhasa.

When the Tihho Art team took over the project, the top two stories of the building had been destroyed, as had the bells. Some of the murals of Buddhist gods and goddesses could still be seen, but most were blurry and their subjects could barely be made out. Meanwhile, the traces of fire from when the building was burned could be seen on some carved wooden decorations.

Since 2015, the local government decided to bring architects, experts on Buddhism and an art team onto the renovation project.

Xia Yujun, an architect born in the 1990s, participated in the renovation of this 200-year-old building. He spent three years pondering every detail of this building after graduating from Britain and coming to Tibet in 2016. “When tourists take a close look at the murals, it forms a connection between them and the building itself,” Xia told the China Youth Daily when the art center opened July 25, 2021.

“Everyone discovers different objects from the murals. Some who like animals notice the treasured wildlife in the mountains, while some historians spot signs of the British troops who passed through here,” he added.

After visiting more than 1,000 temples in Tibet, Xia now teaches at Tibet University. He noted that as Tibet’s first ancient temple-turned-art center, the space “carries the mission of traditional Chinese aesthetic education.”

Since 2018, the local government has invested more money to carry out comprehensive repairs of the temple, which included strengthening the foundation and roof with specially made local materials and inviting professionals to restore the murals.

To protect the murals inside the Jebum-gang Art Center, there’s no lighting in some exhibition halls, so visitors have to hold an LED light in their hands to appreciate the repaired murals as they walk in the dark.

Throughout the four exhibitions Zhang and his Tihho Art team have curated over the past year, the most recent “Multi-Verse: Ding Yi in Tibet” exhibition best represents the intention of the group when they first took over preservation of the temple.

“We decided to make it into a modern art space because we think it is our mission to express traditional culture using contemporary language,” Zhang said.

In addition, “there are plenty of expressions of patriotism both architecturally and historically. Therefore, it is also a patriotic education base for cooperating with local students.” (Global Times)