Current Project

As part of the research group “Buddhist temple economies in urban Asia”, this project will investigate the interrelations between monastic economies, tourism (re-)development and urbanization at Songtseling monastery in Shangrila. Located in the Tibetan border region of Southwest China, it is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the area.

Before 1949, Tibetan Buddhist monasteries drew revenue largely from agricultural holdings, patronage and the strategic accumulation of capital from the local laity. Especially in frontier areas, monasteries were deeply embedded in the local population and monastic clergy played an important role alongside lay administrators in the administrative affairs of the region. In the wake of attempts during the Cultural Revolution to erase all traces of religious practice, Buddhism has since experienced a revival in China. Newly renovated and reopened temples and monasteries increasingly try to meet the imposed condition of economic self-sufficiency by seeking recognition as tourist destinations and cultural sites and business investments.

In a similar vein, Songtseling monastery has been promoted as a prime tourist asset in the area of Shangrila, which has experienced rapid growth of its tourism industry as well as expansion of the urban structure in recent decades. Due to a large fire that has destroyed large parts the historic centre of the town in January 2014, urban reconstruction projects and large-scale investments are anticipated to further accelerate these processes. Against this backdrop, this project seeks to understand how monastic economies are affected by ethnic tourism and urban (re-)development. Furthermore, through the methods of long-term ethnographic fieldwork, this research aims at gaining a better understanding of the social and economic role of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and among the local laity, and how traditional relations have been altered by recent economic development and urbanisation.