Namcha Barwa Visitor Centre

The Namcha Barwa Visitor Centre is located in Pai Town in Linzhi Prefecture. The building sits on a slope along the road leading to the last village Zhibai deep in the Grand Canyon of Yarlung Tsangpo, with the 7,782 m-high Mount Namcha Barwa forming the backdrop to the east.

The building serves as a visitor centre, which provides comprehensive information about the region. It also serves as the “town centre” for the villagers and is used as supply base for the backpack hikers exploring the Grand Canyon nearby. The program includes a reception and information hall, public toilets, a supply store, an internet café, a medical centre, changing rooms for hikers, meeting rooms, offices for tour guides and drivers, a water tank and an electrical station for the village.

Like a few slices of rock extending out of the mountain, the building is conceived as a series of stone walls set into the slope, with no windows facing the incoming road from the west. Approaching from the road people cannot be sure if this is a building or a row of retaining walls or even a Mani wall (to pay homage to the spirit of the place) at the foot of the mountain. A stone retaining wall leads to the entrance with the reception and exhibition hall. The main hall is lit by skylights and has a panoramic window that frames the view to the north towards the village and the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The public toilets and the luggage storage are placed behind a one-metre-thick stone wall, while further behind the next stone wall the internet café, medical clinic and the drivers’ rest space are located. Halfway between the two, a staircase leads to the second floor with the roof garden and meeting rooms. The water tank is hidden beneath the stairs and the elec-trical switch room is located in the basement.