Reconstruction efforts continue in southwest China's Xizang after a powerful earthquake earlier this month. Six ancient Buddhist temples and monasteries were damaged in the quake. How are these religious sites recovering? Chen Mengfei reports.
A rite for the deceased is taking place in this makeshift sutra hall in Xizang's Dingri county.
For the mourning villagers, the monks of the Sengar Chode Monastery offer some consolation.
A short walk away is the monastery, now in ruins from the earthquake.
Abbot Thubten recalls that fateful morning on January 7th, when all the buildings collapsed except for the main hall, and that's where all 22 monks of the monastery happened to be.
THUBTEN Abbot, Sengar Chode Monastery "It's so fortunate we were in here for morning prayers. If we had been in the dormitory, we would have all been doomed."
However, the monastery was hit hard.
Once he spotted the damages from his office, monastery Director Tserin Wangdui and a group of people rushed up the steep hill.
They were able to retrieve six nuns from the rubble, four of whom survived.
In total, six temples in the region suffered significant damages from the earthquake, and two nuns lost their lives.
Reconstruction plans are already underway, with the Sengar Chode Monastery being the most complex case.
Three thick walls, which embody 600-year-old murals, standing in the main hall have been assessed by experts to be important cultural relics that must be preserved.
It will require special technicians to dismantle then rebuild the temple, all while leaving these ancient paintings intact.
Built in 1451, this Gelug monastery serves some 4000 Buddhist believers in the region.
Standing amid the ruins, the abbot reflects on what transpired.
THUBTEN Abbot, Sengar Chode Monastery "Through this disaster, we should all realize that those who are alive must be even more united in the future."
Having gone through this ordeal together, the monastery's relationship with its government regulator is also said to have shifted.
TSERIN WANGDUI Party Secretary, Dingri County Senga Chode Monastery Management Committee "In the past, they sometimes thought we were here just to supervise them and had some opinions about it. But after we helped them with disaster relief this time, their perception of us has changed, and our perception of them has also shifted."
CHEN MENGFEI Senga Village, Dingri County, Xizang Autonomous Region "Rebuilding an ancient monastery is, in many ways, even harder than constructing one from scratch. But it will be done because preserving culture and history matters. For the religious people here in Xizang, seeing their treasured monasteries restored will be one more step towards healing. Chen mengfei, CGTN, Senga Village, Dingri County, Xizang Autonomous Region."