Labrang Monastery

One Of The Six Great Monasteries Of The Gelug School; Major Historical And Cultural Site Protected At The National Level · Xiahe, Gansu

One of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and the largest outside the Tibet Autonomous Region: a monastic town of golden-roofed assembly halls, colleges and whitewashed monks' quarters filling the valley of the Daxia River at Xiahe, in the Amdo Tibetan highlands of southern Gansu at about 2,900 metres. Founded in 1709 by the first Jamyang Zhepa, it grew into a great centre of learning with colleges of philosophy, tantra, medicine, astrology and the Kalachakra, and it still houses many hundreds of monks. Pilgrims from across Amdo walk its kora of about 3 km, turning a line of more than a thousand prayer wheels, many of them prostrating their way around. Visitors join guided tours into the halls, where butter lamps glow before gilded statues and murals, and can climb the Gongtang Chorten for views over the golden roofs. During the Great Prayer Festival in the first Tibetan month, a giant thangka is unrolled on the hillside and masked dances fill the courtyards. Because Xiahe is outside the Tibet Autonomous Region, no special Tibet permit is required.

Labrang Monastery, Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Xiahe, Gansu, China

Kora open all day. Guided hall tours run at set times in the morning and afternoon, roughly 8:00-18:00. Access can change during festivals and sensitive dates.

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