Chambaling Monastery


Located in Chamdo Town, Chambaling Monastery, ranks the largest Gelugpa monastery in the Chamdo area.
Because the monastery is located at the highest part of Chandu Town, you can have a bird view of the whole county, where the roaring Lantsang River converges Ngom Qu River and Tsarchu Rivers.

The monastery stands high on the mountain, so all Buddhas had to go down to the river and carry water to the monastery. There were 22 big bronze pots, each containing more than 100 barrels of water. Everyday, the residents living around carried drinking water to the monastery to support 2500 Buddha’s daily life.

Chambaling Monastery, was founded in 1444 by one of Tsong Khapa's disciples. The monastery has usually kept a close relationship with past Chinese governments. It still has a brass seal granted to its abbot by Emperor Kangxi.

The most important Buddha statue consecrated in the monastery is the Chamba Buddha, and it is for this reason that the monastery was named Chambaling.
Following the same design as the other Gelugpa monasteries, it has a main assembly hall, zhacangs and debating yards, etc. The many hundreds of status, Thankas and murals are similar to those in other Gelugpa monasteries, and represent the highest artistic level in kham.

And this monastery dose have something that is unique as during the Tibetan New Year’s Festival, the inmates celebrate with dance rituals. Wearing an assortment ferocious masks and gorgeous garments, many lamas perform this elegant ritual dance. The musical accompaniment is pithy, clear and melodious. The whole scene is wonderfully spectacular and the event is highly regarded throughout the whole of Tibet.