Longwu Monastery


Being one of the famous monasteries of Gelug Sect (yellow sect), Longwu Monastery
is located in Longwu Township in Tongren County of northwest China's Qinghai
Province. It was firstly set up in Yuan Dynasty and was famous for its magnificent
architecture, splendid halls and abundant cultural relics.

Located in the south of town, it is one of the six biggest monasteries of Tibetan
Buddhism in Qinghai Province with 500 monks. The local Tibetans are very proud of
the Longwu Monastery as it is only next to the Labrang Monastery in Gansu Province
and the Ta'er Monastery in Qinghai Province in terms of scale, status, and influence.

It was initially built by the Sakya Sect in 1301 of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In the
Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, the Xiaricang Living Buddha
system was formed here and the monastery changed into Gelukpa Sect. From then
on, it dominated the region in religions and politics for about 200 years.

In the main hall are enormous gilded statues of Sakyamuni, Avalokite shvara, Bodhisattva Manjusri, Buddha's warrior attendants and the four deva
-kings. The statues are almost engulfed by tiers upon tiers of spectacularly beautiful murals and thangkas. Each painting seems to be more
gorgeous than the last - the colors glowing and illuminated by generous touches of gold. Skillfully carved and painted niches and brackets divide
the different murals, each illustrating a tale from Buddhist lore and pictorial lessons. There are two gates in the
east and the southwest with silk threads, flying eaves and arches, just like a pavilion. In the north of the temple
there are eight Buddhism pagodas backed up by Xia Palace of Buddha Xia Ri Cang on the hill with more than 90
yards of monk rooms with white lime closures in order.