Homes and Gardens, Tibetan Style

Homes and Gardens, Tibet style

As in all over the world, our home is a special place; a place to relax, work, keep our belongings, entertain, to feel proud, to feel safe.

Years ago, the Chinese (Han) style of housing was not too dissimilar to the Tibetan’s – a walled-in enclave with courtyards and many levels of rooms. The hutong was an ancestral home, where generations returned for family gatherings and celebrations (think of our Currier & Ives images). Over the past 65 years, due to economy, space and lifestyle, many Chinese have moved to apartments, and in big cities, to small 40-story units. The destroying/preserving of ancient hutongs has been subject of many articles and books.

Here in Tibet, the separate multi-generational house is still the popular style, although new ones are prohibitively expensive. Traditionally they respect the environment: built side-by side, always facing south to gather as much heat and light as possible, with a courtyard for drying clothes, growing vegetables, and heating food/water on a wood burning stove. The larger homes keep cattle and grain on the first floor and a series of suites on the second. Even in the countryside, the homes are built with neighbours in mind.

In Canada and US, we build our houses with large, impressive open front yards and private, green backyards. Here, just as in old Europe, the wall and large door often does not boast of what lies within. On long walks I’ve been tempted to take photos of open doorways that reveal pretty gardens and decorations inside (or piles of used items and lots of weeds). One day I will add these!

The first set of photos show traditional Tibetans homes. The little window in the first photo is in the bathroom, and the kitchen room is to the left of the entrance. Across the courtyard one enters the rest of the house, with usually 2 large rooms on main floor, some storage rooms behind, and 2/3/4 bedrooms upstairs. One of those rooms is a "Buddha Room" where they display tankas, light candles, and fill 7 bowls of water each day. Oh, and it's the law that every home must display the Chinese flag.

Even if the front door faces East (onto a main country street), most windows face south.

In the city, each of these buildings are rows of houses; their walkways are too narrow to park their car in front of their own house, so they park in the roadway.

Sina's front door.

Inside the foster children's courtyard.

Kitchen in background, eating/family area in front, door to courtyard.

Main living room.

This is Sonia's parents' home. The front room (facing south onto the courtyard) also has a window into the rear livingroom. You can see a red prayer wheel which turns when the candle is lit inside.

My friend Maggie owns a modern apartment, but with Tibetan furnishings:

Tibetan living rooms are lined with daybeds, which can sleep many people.

 

In the more “downtown” areas, the main streets appear to be solid blocks of large buildings, but actually are just the outside edge of little neighbourhoods through the gates, with green grass, trees, play areas and Chinese style apartments. In the oldest areas of town, the 200 year old buildings house apartments around a courtyard.

Tsdan lives in her husband's television work unit. These are his offices.

This is Tsdan's entrance to her apartment.

 

This is her living room.

In the oldest areas of town, the 200 year old buildings house apartments around a courtyard..

This is the livingroom of an artist teacher friend and these are the stairs to her studio above.

Some extra photos of construction around Lhasa: