Pargo Kaling

[8] The oldest known representation of the Pargo Kaling Gate is found on a map of the city of Lhasa drawn by Nikita Bichurin in the first half of the 19th century.

The cover art of the original motion picture soundtrack shows actor Brad Pitt and the young 14th Dalai Lama with the chorten in the background.

The English version of Peter Aufschnaiter's memoirs Eight Years in Tibet, published in 2002, includes a photo of the chorten with the caption "Pawogaling, the Western Stupa below the Potala.

"[12] A photo of the famous landmark is on the cover of Kamal Ratna Tuladhar's book, Caravan to Lhasa, published in 2004, about the story of Nepalese Newar traders in Tibet from the 1920s to the 1960s.

The lyrics of the first verse and the chorus go like this: In front of the Potala Palace / There were three beloved stupas / Whenever the wind stirred the chimes / What resounding music there was / How melodious it sounded.

Photo of Lhasa's Western Gateway taken during the British expedition to Tibet , in 1903-1904.
1932 map of Lhasa with descriptions in Czech and English. The Pargo Kaling Gate is located on the west side (left side) of this map next to the Potala Palace .
Map of Lhassa by Nikita Bichurin (first half of the 19th century). The Western Gate's three chortens can be seen in the left lower corner.
1938 photo of the rear façade of the Pargo Kaling central chorten with its wires furnished with small bells stretching from its spire to the top of the two smaller chortens.
1938 photo of the front façade of the former Pargo Kaling chorten in Lhasa.
The reconstructed centre chorten in 2006.