Labrang Monastery Travel Guide

The Labrang Monastery (Labuleng si) 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 Eangzongzhe, who was to become the first of the monastery's Living Buddhas (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.