美丽的风景还没有看够，终点拉萨火车站就到了。它是全线最大的火车站，既有藏族传统建筑的特点，又有现代建筑风格。火车站建在拉萨河边，对面就是著名的布达拉宫。

我曾经在书里读到这样一段话：“无数的宫殿死去了，成了废墟①，或者成了博物馆，而布达拉宫还活着。漫长的历史、杰出的建筑、还在呼吸的文物、永远围绕着它的朝圣者②，一起构建了布达拉宫的生命。”

布达拉宫曾经是宫殿，但是，经过几个世纪的修建，在信徒的心目中，布达拉宫是最高圣殿，不论多远都要来这里朝圣；对于旅游者来说，布达拉宫是文明的奇迹，同样值得我们从千里之外来到它的脚下。

我迫不及待地想去布达拉宫，去参观这座活着的圣殿。可是，导游告诉我，现在，布达拉宫的门票很难买到，需要等候预约。这时我才意识到，源源不断来到西藏实现梦想的游客已经给布达拉宫带来了巨大的压力。

我在拉萨等候着，希望早一些得到布达拉宫的门票，为这次青藏之旅画上一个圆满的句号。

 

Before we have feasted our eyes on this beautiful landscape, the train pulls into its terminal station Lhasa—the largest station on the entire Qinghai-Tibet line. The design of the station incorporates features from traditional Tibetan architecture and some modern architectural styles. Built on the bank of Lhasa River, the station faces the famous Potala Palace.

I once read the following passage from a book: “Many palaces have died and become ruins or museums, but the Potala Palace is still alive. Its long history, its outstanding architecture, the cultural relics still breathing and the eternal throngs of pilgrims surrounding it, all these constitute the life of the Potala Palace.”

The Potala was once a real palace. However, after centuries of building, extension and renovation, it has now become the most sacred palace in the eyes of Tibetan Buddhist believers, who come here to worship no matter how far away they live. To us tourists, the Potala is a great wonder worth travelling thousands of miles to see.

I can’t wait to go to the Potala, to see this living sacred palace. But our tour guide says that admission tickets are not available at the ticket office and must be booked in advance. It dawns on me that the huge influx of tourists are bringing enormous pressure to the palace.

I am waiting in Lhasa, hoping to get a ticket for the Potala as early as possible so as to make a perfect ending to my journey to Tibet.

 

①     废墟fèixū: ruins     

②     朝圣者cháoshèngzhě: pilgrim