Labrang Monastery


The Labrang Monastery is located at the foot of the Phoenix Mountain northwest of Xiahe County in Gannan
Tibetan Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. A propitious place in the hearts of the
Tibetan, it stands by the Daxia River and faces the Dragon Mountain.

The Labrang Monastery has had its fair share of woes and golden times. It was built in 1709 by a monk
from the nearby village of Ganjia named E'angzongzhe, who was to become the first of the monastery's
Living Buddhas (Jiemuyang). Nowadays there are around 2000 monks, mainly from Qinghai, Gansu,
Sichuan, and Inner Mongolia, and reconstruction and extension of the monastery is being done rapidly.
The present head monk, 3rd in religious importance behind the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, is the sixth
incarnation of the Jiemuyang.

The monastery consists of 18 resplendent halls, six prestigious Buddhist institutes (the Institute of Esoteric Buddhism, the Higher & Lower
Institute of Theology, the Institute of Medicine, the Institute of Astrology and the Institute of Law), and about 500 bedrooms for both the living
Buddhas and ordinary monks. In total the monastery holds over 60,000 Tibetan sutras and thousands of rare Buddhist relics, including a statue
of the most famous Tibetan king, Songtsen gampo.

The temple has many good features and, beyond taking the obviously requisite tour, a stroll around the grounds is both peaceful and enjoyable.
The majority of the best sights of the temple are to be found to the north of the main road, through the obvious entrance that approximately bisects
the road between the prayer wheel circle. A good activity is to follow, clockwise, the throngs of Buddhists that make the slow trek along the roofed
Prayer Wheels, that encircle the entire monastery. The hills above are also a good area to get away from the crowds, although you may want to
avoid the sacrilege of stumbling upon a sky burial.