The Labrang Monastery in Gannan, Gansu

Labrang monastery in Gannan, Gansu district

The wonderful Labrang Monastery is located in the county Xiahe, in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Region, in the southeast of Gansu District in China.

It is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug (Yellow Hat) school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The complex was founded in 1709 and it is the most important Tibetan Buddhism’s monastery outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

The white walls and golden roofs feature a blend of Han and Tibetan architectural styles. It contains a golden stupa, six institutes of learning, a sutra debate, and nearly 60,000 sutras. There are over 2,000 monks residing in the monastery.

It has a Buddhist museum with a large collection of Buddha statues, sutras (spoken or written textures) and murals. The monks are known as very friendly to foreign visitors and use every opportunity to practice their English.

Although the region is mostly pastoral and rural, with yak and other animal rearing, tourism is rapidly growing. This is mainly due to the monastery.