Sangiin Dalai Restoration Project
Site introduction
Sangiin Dalai monastery is located in Nomgon sum in Ömnö Gobi aimag, 120km from Dalanzadgad, the administrative center. This was an important town on one of the main trading routes between China and Mongolia. The local community has initiated the project to regain a center for religious activities and practice, and have been supported by their local member of parliament. The Mongolian NGO Consensus, led by a member of the Mongolian parliament, and supported by the local governor and the German donor agency Misereor expressed their interest in the project and invited THF for implementation.
Sangiin Dalai monastery was founded by lama Uizen Rimpoche. Construction of the main temple, Tsogchin dugan, started in 1772. More buildings were added during the 19th century, and the monastery complex was surrounded by a wall with gates to the east, west and south. The six extant buildings correspond to a variety of architectural styles: Chinese, Tibetan and hybrid. They were arranged symmetrically around the central building, the Tsogchin dugan. An important source of information on the monastery's original design was a former monk, Dügerdorj, who had studied here before the repression.
Site condition
Six historic buildings are preserved, and the entire complex has been reduced in size by a new wall separating the surviving buildings from the former main entrance area.
The original south gate is not extant.
The six extant buildings are generally in poor condition, but compared with the destruction inflicted on most other Mongolian monasteries, they still constitute a very important reservoir of historic art and architecture.
During our architectural survey of the site, we found in both Tibetan and Chinese style buildings Chinese writing on timber frame elements. It is common practice among Chinese and Tibetan craftsmen to write in their own language on completed timber elements where these should be placed. We can conclude that many of the builders of Sangiin Dalai were Chinese artisans, who were also versed in Tibetan-style construction.
1 Dooroviin dugan (Chinese style, brick walls with gabled roof)
The building itself still in good condition, but the walls have some cracks and holes. The interior timber frame is damaged and needs restoration. The top floor Chinese style roof structure was destroyed in the 1930s, we have made plans to reconstruct it. All the original window frames and the wooden floor boards are missing. The interior paintings have been damaged by roof leakage. Many roof tiles are missing or broken.
2 Judamiin dugan (Tibetan style, brick walls around timber frame with flat roof)
The north and east side walls are in poor condition due to cracks and erosion. The original doors and window frames are missing. The wooden ceiling structure is heavily damaged by rot, the two beams are broken, and all rafters need to be replaced. The roof is heavily leaking. Many original bricks and decorative tiles are missing. There are still original paintings and carvings on the timber frame elements, especially on the pillar capitals and beams.
3 Duinkhoriin dugan (Mixed Tibetan and Chinese style, brick walls with gabled roof and Tibetan-style interior timber frame)
This is the largest surviving building. The north and west side walls are badly eroded. The building consists of three distinct parts, a Chinese-style porch with gabled roof, a Tibetan-style assembly hall of six pillars (with red decorative frieze and Tibetan windows on the outside) and a Chinese-style sanctum with gabled roof and round Chinese windows.
The central assembly hall has the most interesting decoration, the pillar capitals and beams are carved and painted in Tibetan style Unfortunately, due to leakage, the wooden ceiling structure is heavily damaged by rot and needs extensive replacement. The roof needs a new drainage system. Most of the roof tiles of the porch area and many of those above the sanctum area tiles are missing or damaged.
The historic paintings are damaged by leakage and need cleaning and conservation. The original doors and windows are missing.
4 Taptsang (Tibetan style, brick wall with flat roof)
This building was the former monastic kitchen, serving the main assembly hall to the east of which it is located It escaped destruction in 1974 when the hall, the Tsogchin dugan, burnt down. It has six pillars and a Tibetan-style porch.
The building condition is poor, parts of the roof have collapsed and many bricks and tiles are missing, and so are the original window frames. There have been several structural alterations and previous repair attempts in the past.
5 Khailaniin dugan (Chinese style with gabled roof and Tibetan-style timber frame and paintings)
This building is basically in sound condition, but a roof lantern in Chinese style is missing since it was removed in the 1930s. The original door and window frames are missing. The original paintings on walls and timber frame have been covered with white paint, but most of them can be recovered.
6 Güüregiin dugan (Chinese style with gabled roof and Tibetan-style paintings)
This building corresponds closely to Khailaniin dugan, and is in comparable condition, with additional wall damage on the north side. The roof lantern is missing.
The original door and window frames are missing, the timber frame is well preserved.
Building skills training program
Since 2004, THF has been working in Mongolia, based in Ulaanbaatar as well as in the Ömnö Gobi aimag. Apart from restoring a historic monastery complex, our aim was to revive traditional architectural skills. With the help of Chinese and Tibetan experts, we have conducted vocational training and built up a small work force, as well as a local brick and tile manufacture. In order to restore Sangiin Dalai monastery, we have trained members of the local community to carry out the work.
After conducting extensive site surveys, including social and environmental studies, we made a plan for the restoration of the monastic buildings, and a list of necessary materials and skills. We also identified which skills were not locally available.
Our findings led to three important conclusions:
i People were leaving the area looking for jobs in the capital city because there are no jobs in the area. The area was structurally deficient.
ii Local people’s skills were very poor.
iii Nothing was produced in the area, which is after all part of the Gobi desert. Everything except for coal from a nearby mine needed to be brought from the capital (700km) or from China (200km, this being a border crossing point only infrequently open).
Setting up local manufacturing of brick and tiles
Building a kiln
A key point was to be the manufacturing of Chinese-style grey baked bricks and roof tiles. We found the ruins of an old kiln, indicating that probably until the mid-20th century, these bricks and tiles had been made on site. We also found some local people were still producing some bricks, but these were of very poor quality as no proper kiln was used.
We planned to build a proper kiln, and train Mongolian brick makers. Only local materials should be used, and the Gobi's environment not compromised in any way.
To start the building of the kiln four families were identified as participants (Mongolian life is centered around the family and it is hard to have people from different families working together). Each family sent two members. We brought in Chinese brick makers from Tianjin to help building the kiln and teach the local Mongolian participants step by step how to make bricks and tiles.
The location of the kiln needs to be near a source of water supply, usually a well. Then we decided on the size of the oven. There are three standard sizes: large (8m in diameter), medium (3m in diameter) and small (about 1.5 meter in diameter). The oven that we built in Sangiin Dalai is about medium size, 2.80m in diameter, 4m high, with the capacity to burn between 6.000 to 10.000 bricks at a time. Sun-baked mud bricks, old fired blue bricks and earth were used to build the walls. To get the necessary amount of bricks, we used only some of the locally manufactured bricks of poor quality, we also 'borrowed' blue bricks that local families had collected from the destroyed temple that was burnt down in the 70’s. After the first successful brick production, the new bricks were given to those families that had lent us bricks.
We erected a ger (Mongolian tent) to provide accommodation for the Chinese brick makers and the local trainees, and built a storeroom out of rammed earth for tools and coal.
Throughout 2005 and 2006, we successfully produced the bricks, simple roof tiles and decorative tiles necessary for the restoration of the roofs of Sangiin Dalai on site.
More details can be found in our book about Traditional Mongolian Architecture (link to cover page in publications) and our Sangiin Dalai Restoration report.