Tibetan Architecture

Tibetan architecture draws on influences from neighboring regions but has developed many features of its own in response to the cold, generally arid, high-altitude climate of the Tibetan plateau, with buildings typically built from locally available stone, clay and wood and often decorated with symbols of Tibetan Buddhism such as prayer flags. Its religious structures fall into two main types, temples called gompas used for ceremonies and worship, and stupas known as chortens, which serve as reliquaries and symbols, with chorten design varying regionally from rounded walls in Kham to square, four-sided walls in Ladakh. Secular Tibetan building includes private homes, multi-family dwellings and shops, along with the seasonal tents of herding families, while aristocratic manor homes such as the fourteenth-century Namseling Manor in Dranang County have almost entirely disappeared except for a few restored examples.