Labrang Monastery

Labrang Monastery

This (monastery was built in 1709 by E'angzongzhe, the first-generation Jiamuyuang Living Buddha), who came from the nearby town of Ganjia. It is home to six institutes (Institute of Esoteric Buddhism, Higher&Lower Institutes of Theology, Institute of Medicine, Institute of Astrology and Institute of Law). There are also numerous temple halls, 'Living Buddha' residences and living quarters for the monks.

At its peak the monastery housed nearly 4000 monks, but their ranks were decimated during the Cultural Revolution. The numbers are recovering, and there are about 1200 monks today, drawn fro Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia.

In April 1985 the main Prayer Hall of the Institute of Esoteric Buddhism was razed in a fire caused by faulty electrical wiring. The fire is said to have burnt for a week and destroyed some priceless relics. The hall's reconstruction was completed at great cost in mid-1990, but the monks remain reluctant to allow the use of electricity in most parts of the monastery.

Entry to the main temple is by tour only. Tours generally include the Instituteof Medicine, the Ser Kung Golden Temple, the Prayer Hall and the museum. The ticket office and souvenir shop are on the right-hand side of the monastery car park. There are English tours of the monastery leaving the ticket office at around 11am though sometimes they might not run; an option is to show up at around 6am or 7am to be with the monks.

Access to the rest of the monastery area is free, and you can easily spend several hours just walking around and taking in the atmosphere. Try to make friends with a monk or two; they'll probably be happy to invite you into their living quarters, which always make for an interesting house call. The opening hours are not set in stone.