Labrang Monastery

Labrang was founded in 1709 and became one of the six great Gelug monasteries, with colleges teaching philosophy, medicine, astrology and tantra, and a monk population that ran into the thousands. It sits at about 2,900 metres in a valley in southern Gansu, in a Tibetan cultural region well outside the Tibet Autonomous Region and therefore reachable without special permits. Around the complex runs a kora lined with prayer wheels, more than a thousand of them in covered corridors, described locally as the longest such circuit in the world, turned continuously by pilgrims. Monk-guided tours enter the assembly halls and colleges.

History

Labrang was founded in 1709 by the first Jamyang Zhépa, Ngawang Tsöndrü, at a meeting point of Tibetan and Mongolian cultures, and became one of the largest Buddhist monastic universities, housing several thousand monks in the early 20th century and drawing pilgrims to many annual festivals. Its Assembly Hall burned in April 1985 and was rebuilt, the new hall consecrated in 1990 (Wikipedia, Labrang Monastery).

What to look for

• The prayer wheel corridor - over a thousand wheels around the complex.
• The colleges - the teaching institutes for philosophy, medicine and astrology.
• The assembly halls - great temples entered on guided tours.
• The pilgrim kora - the constant clockwise circuit around the monastery.

When to go

April to October for mild weather; Monlam in late winter is the great festival, with a giant thangka unrolled on the hillside, and draws large crowds in bitter cold. Nights are cold year-round at altitude.

Things to know

No Tibet permit is needed here, unlike in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Interior tours run on a fixed schedule and photography inside is restricted. Xiahe is small with basic accommodation.

Nearby

Langmusi lies south; Lanzhou is northeast.

Key facts