Lying at an altitude of 3680 metres, Lalung today has 313 inhabitants and is the only major village in the Lingti valley. Lalung (Lha-lung) must once have been a major Buddhist centre. Today only two older temples remain on the hill, both containing clay sculptures attributable to the earliest phase of Buddhism in the area (10th to 13th centuries). One is a tiny provisional chapel on the side of a house at the edge of the flat hill-top. One may call this building the Vairocana Chapel, after the images contained inside it. The second site is the exceptional Golden Temple or Serkhang (gSer-khang) located on the crown of the hill. Serkhang thereby denotes two different strucures: on one hand the temple building as a whole with two chapels, several other rooms and a former ambulatory also containing partially preserved early paintings. However, it also denotes the main chapel inside this building, a room crammed with sculptures and paintings. The second temple, the room to the north of the passage leading to the Serkhang, is called 'Dungyur', denoting the mani wheel contained inside it, as well as more recent sculptures and murals.
The Wooden Ceiling in the Golden Temple The ceiling in the golden temple of Lalung dates back to the 12th century and represents a unique example for the art of carpentry. The overall condition of the ceiling is in a good condition. Only the beam in the middle of the room was subsequently propped by a central pillar. In front of this pillar a curtain was attached to the upper part, which, as a result, adversely affects the view on the ceiling as a whole thus rendering its unlimited appreciation impossible. The room itself is quite narrow and without natural lighting. Accordingly, the photographic documentation of the interior met difficult conditions and it therefore necessary to take several detailed photographs of parts of the room. On the basis of a manual building plan a digital map of the interior was drawn on the spot. Starting from the map of the wooden ceiling and the existing photographs the single consoles, beams and single fields were added and rectified in conformity with the original copy of the map. The final result allows for an impression of the entire ceiling in its original condition, before the works were added.

Text: Christian Luczanits / Holger Neuwirth
Used Software: AutoCAD 2002 / Photoshop 6.0; Pictureadaption and Montage: Carmen Auer
Pictures: The inside of the main chapel / Holger Neuwirth / 2002