“why is there weird flags hung on those houses?" Qi Yue asked while pointing to some isolated houses on the gra.s.sland in order to ease the tense situation.
“Well, that"s a scripture not a flag, which is very common in Tibet. For example, you can find a Buddha statue on the roof of a house which is a religious practice. The colorful scriptures or flags as you said are composed of five colors – blue, white, red, green, Yellow, their color cannot be changed at will, because each color represents a different meaning. Blue means blue sky, white means white clouds and Snow Mountains, red represents the sun (also said flame), green represents green trees, and yellow means the earth. The scriptures are printed on a piece of cloth. The Tibetans believe that every time the wind blows, it"s considered as if they prayed themselves, it means that they have recited the Buddhist scriptures in their hearts and prayed to avoid an auspicious moment.”
Qi Yue smiled and said “isn"t this you first time here? It seems like you"re very familiar with this place!”
“Oh? What is the Potala Palace?” Qi Yue naturally did not know of the Potala Palace, but at some point in time he taught about the golden building in his dream, although he did not see the golden building clearly he definitely felt the sacred aura emanating from it.
NOTE: Google images of it, you"ll be amazed trust me
“The Potala Palace is a famous palace-style building while being complex it represents the essence of Tibetan ancient architectural art on the Mabu Rishan in the northwest of Lhasa. The Potala Palace was built in the 7th century AD by the Tibetan king Songtsan Gambo. It was also his meeting quarters with his wife princess Wencheng of the tang dynasty. The building measures 400 metres (1,300 ft) east-west and 350 metres (1,150 ft) north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick, and 5 metres (16 ft) thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes Thirteen storeys of buildings, containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues, soar 117 metres on top of Marpo Ri, the “Red Hill”, rising more than 300 metres (980 ft) in total above the valley floor. The 5 palace roofs are covered with gilt and bronze tiles aswell. Giving the fortress-looking palace a golden glow matching its sacred status"
After listening to the detailed explanation of Shui Yue, Qi Yue"s heart trembled, especially after she spoke of the golden glow and sacred aura; it matched hints from his dream. Even though he is fleeing and chanced on Tibet by chance, he secretly decided to visit the golden palace. It never felt like a dream in the first place, more like; memories from his past life, it was too real to be a dream.
Shui Yue looked back at Qi Yue and smiled. “It"s a pity that you have been asleep for far too long. You didn"t see the majestic Kunlun Mountains. It is also a very beautiful place. The highest peak in the eastern section of the Kunlun Mountains called Yuzhufeng. It is the place where our train pa.s.ses, and it is more than 6,000 meters above sea level. We have now reached the Nyainqentanglha Mountain, which is one of the most important mountains around Lhasa. You might think that we"re not in a very high alt.i.tude because of the peaks surrounding us but that"s only relative. The Tibetan language of Nyainqentanglula means ‘Lingying Prairie G.o.d". It is the G.o.d mountain in the hearts of Tibetans. The main peak is 7,117 meters. There are 4 peaks above 7 km. The peaks of the mountains are arranged and closely connected. There are more than 30 snow peaks and tens of thousands of meters around them, and look like they are endless. When we get here, we would be very close to Lhasa.”
Her speech was spoken in a sighing tone, and it seems that Shui Yue has been affected by the snow and cold outside.
Qi Yue didn"t say anything. Looking at the snowy mountains outside, for some reason He didn"t have the mood to cheer Shui Yue up. He felt free, even forgetting about the tragic events from the capital.
When the train finally reached Lhasa, it was already nine o"clock in the evening. Qi Yue and Shui Yue got off the train. Far away, he already spotted someone at the pick-up platform holding a big sign with the word “Shui Yue”.