Is the Tibet Museum open? Tibet Museum opening hours

The Tibet Museum is a comprehensive museum with great cultural characteristics, full of Tibetan culture and customs. It collects various fine cultural relics and traditional items, which are of great visiting and research value. It is a must-visit attraction when traveling to Tibet.

Since December 2016, the Tibet Museum has been closed for renovation and expansion. At present, the construction of the main structure of the museum has been completed, and it has entered the stages of secondary structure construction, secondary decoration, and equipment procurement. The Tibet Museum was originally planned to open in 2021.

When you walk into the museum, the overall structure of the Tibet Museum is clearly visible. In terms of functional area division, the new museum has set up a multi-functional lecture hall, cultural book bar, cultural and creative experience area, children's experience hall, 4D cinema and other places that fully meet the development needs of modern museums. After the renovation and expansion, cultural relics safety, protection research, exhibitions, publicity and education, service levels, children's experience, smart museums, etc. will be comprehensively improved. Fan Guoqiang said: "According to the engineering design, after the renovation and expansion of the Tibet Museum, multiple large exhibition halls will be added. In the future, they can be arranged according to different exhibition contents to meet Tibet's cultural promotion needs to the greatest extent."

Tibet After the museum reconstruction and expansion project is completed, the conditions for collecting cultural relics will be further improved, and various modern public service facilities and various social education activity areas will be added, making it an important base for education on patriotism and national unity and the long history and splendidness of Tibet. An important display window for culture.

Announcement on the closure of the Tibet Museum

The renovation and expansion project of the Tibet Museum is a major cultural project to benefit the people during Tibet’s “13th Five-Year Plan” period. After reconstruction and expansion, the Tibet Museum will become "a first-class museum in China and influential in the world." In order to ensure the implementation of the project, the Tibet Museum has been officially closed since December 1, 2016. During this period, other operations except the showroom will continue as usual. For the latest news, please follow the official WeChat account of the Tibet Museum. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

Tibet is a tourist destination that many people yearn for, and it is also a place I have been to many times. Tibet’s unique customs and culture are worth visiting and understanding. In addition to its magnificent natural beauty, this pearl on the snowy plateau also has a long and splendid history. Therefore, if you come to Tibet and Lhasa for the first time, in addition to the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple, the most recommended place is the Tibet Museum.

The Tibet Museum is located in the center of Lhasa, adjacent to Norbulingka. It was built as early as 1999. The museum's architectural appearance is grand and has strong Tibetan characteristics.

However, the museum is currently undergoing renovation and expansion projects and the museum is temporarily closed for viewing. It is reported that the renovation and expansion will retain the original facade style of the old building outside the museum, and after completion, the functions will be more complete than the original ones.

This set of photos was taken when I visited a few years ago. It has never been sorted out. Now I turn them out and recall them.

The most valuable thing now is that most museums in China are free and open, and the Tibet Museum is no exception. You can go in with your ID card to get a visit ticket. The museum collects and displays many treasures, most of which reflect Tibetan characteristics. Entering the main exhibition hall, the first thing that catches the eye is the treasure of the museum: a two-body clay pot with a plump surface and simple geometric patterns. In fact, this cultural relic has a history of more than 4,000 years and represents the highest level of pottery making at that time.

The witch is lying on her back. This thangka artifact belongs to Norbulingka. Legend has it that during the Tubo period, the terrain of Tibet was in the shape of a witch lying on her back, which was a very unlucky form of Feng Shui. It was necessary to build a temple to suppress it. Therefore, on the map where the witch lies on her back, not only the mountains and rivers of Tibet are depicted, but also many temples of different sizes. The audience can clearly see the witch's facial features and body, which is really exquisite.

The cultural relics on display in the museum not only reflect the unique culture

The legendary "soft hedgehog armor". Tibetan armor is very distinctive. Iron helmets are often decorated with complex patterns, most of which bear special symbols of Tibetan Buddhism. The one in the photo is chain mail, made up of thousands of interlocking iron rings. It is both strong and very flexible.

Friends who know Tibetan areas are no stranger to thangka. These paintings are made of natural minerals or plant materials. Even though they have a long history, the colors are still bright and timeless. The museum displays many ancient thangkas, with different themes and different painting schools, which all reflect the history and social life of Tibetan areas.

Scenes that simulate Tibetan life. As foreign tourists, we rarely have the opportunity to visit Tibetan families, and with the development of the times, it is now difficult to see traditional Tibetan home layouts. Therefore, this kind of display in the museum is quite necessary.

Traditional Tibetan living utensils are mostly made of copper and decorated with unique patterns and gems, which are very exquisite.

The scenes reflecting the living customs of the Tibetan people are composed of wax figures and background paintings, which are quite realistic if you don’t look carefully. In addition, there are many special exhibitions of folk utensils.

Tibet has a strong Buddhist atmosphere, so many classic Buddhist statues have been preserved. The photo shows a 9th-10th century alloy Buddha statue of Sakyamuni.

The white marble reclining Buddha is gentle and delicate as a whole, revealing exquisite beauty from the inside out.

The gilded bronze Green Tara and Tibetan Buddhist statue art are the most representative components of Tibetan culture. If you want to fully understand Tibet, the best shortcut is to go to the Tibet Museum. Although it has been closed for many years due to expansion, I still look forward to reopening one day and experiencing the glorious history of Tibet.