Giant Tibetan Prayer Wheel at Guishan at Dukezong Ancient Town 独克宗古城
From the ancient town of Dukezong, I already knew that there was a temple on some sort of high ground. The temple on top of Guishan can be easily seen from the rest of the town, and perhaps that is also one of the reason why they built it there in the first place. One feature of the temple complex stands out from the rest. There seemed to be a giant golden prayer wheel as well. It seems to be rotating at times but there doesn’t seem to be a pattern. When you are on top of Guishan, the giant prayer wheel is one of the places to visit.
Turning the Giant Prayer Wheel
After the temple, it was only a short walk to the giant prayer wheel. It is kind of difficult to miss with the giant wheel looming over you. I immediately realized why the wheel doesn’t turn regularly. It is totally manual. There are handles at the base of the wheel where people would try to turn the wheel. Turning the wheel by yourself is probably not possible, which is why you try to get support from the others. Most of the people here treat is as some sort of game and they happily join in.
The goal is to be able to turn the wheel three times. Although this can get done by several people at a time, getting them to stay for the entire three turns is difficult. If someone joined midway of a rotation, the others will have already left the wheel, leaving the poor guy trying to turn the wheel by himself, that is until another batch of people come in an help, and the cycle goes on. It is fun watching the people do this with the bystanders cheering people on. I have to say that I have successfully turned it three times as well, that is of course with a little help.
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