New ice cream reflects sweet Tibetan paint

陈小将

The Potala Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Lhasa, Tibet autonomous region, recently developed a cultural creativity ice cream and put it on sale in some stores. It creatively integrates traditional Tibetan culture.

The shapes of the ice cream molds are borrowed from traditional Tibetan architecture, and the colors are white and red, which reflects the distinctive architecture of the plateau region.

Every year in autumn, residents paint the exterior walls of the Potala Palace. The annual whitewashing protects the building, which is more than 1,300 years old.

The whitewash is traditional concoction of milk, honey and sugar — which provide a distinctive sweet smell — combined with lime. Professional workers mix the special paint and then spray it on the exterior walls of the building.

The paint is thick and doesn't come off easily. It provides protection against extreme weather. And it is said to taste sweet.

Like the whitewash, the new ice cream is sweeter and more nutritious than usual. It's made with higher content of milk fat, and is more nutritious than regular ice cream.

Currently, there are three retail outlets for the ice cream around the Potala Palace.