China > The Labrang Monastery in Xiahe

It’s chilly in the breakfast room when I arrive at 8:30 a.m. One by one, everyone is served a plate with toast, egg, jam, and yogurt—a great way to start the day. At 9:45, we gather at the reception for a visit to the Labrang Monastery. The entrance to the monastery complex is less than a hundred meters from the hotel. In a large, modern building is the ticket office. I buy an entrance ticket. My passport is only needed here to determine whether I’m over 65 years old. Admission is free for seniors. At the ticket office, I also meet Thasi, the local Tibetan guide who will explain the monastery and its various temples. We follow him into the streets of the monastery complex. Thasi explains that Labrang Monastery is a vast complex with tens of thousands of rooms, including eighteen halls and six educational institutes. It houses more than 1,000 monks, who belong to the Gelug school, the yellow-hat order. During the occupation of Tibet by China in 1950, many monasteries were destroyed. Labrang Monastery largely survived this cultural revolution. However, the Chinese closed the monastery in 1958. It was not until twelve years later that it was allowed to be restored and reopened. Thasi takes us to the first temple, where there is a large Buddha statue.

China - The monastery of the yellow-hat Tibetan monks

I estimate it to be at least ten meters tall. This Buddha symbolizes the founder of the monastery, Ngawang Tsondru, in 1709. Tibetan villagers and pilgrims come to the temple to pray and make offerings, leaving money or goods at the statues. It's a remarkable scene. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed. I have to restrain myself from secretly trying. In the second temple, Thasi again points out various Buddhist images and shows us hundreds of ancient Tibetan books. In the small ‘museum,’ colorful yak butter sculptures are displayed. Every year, at the beginning of the year, a new artwork is created. The figures are intricately detailed. The largest temple of the Gelug monks, the Grand Sutra Hall, is being used today for a monk debate. During these debates, monks try to convince each other with arguments. Unfortunately, this means the temple cannot be visited. As an alternative, we visit the monks' prayer hall. I step into a huge room with benches for the monks to pray on. About fifty monks are ready for prayer. In the rooms behind, small groups of monks chant mantras while beating drums. A high-ranking monk with a tall yellow hat comes to send us away when we linger too long. Clearly, we’re not supposed to stay. Outside the prayer hall, we say goodbye to Thasi. We now have time to explore the complex on our own. The monastery complex resembles a large village. Between the temples are small houses where the monks live. I walk through the wide streets to the back of the complex. A bit more secluded, I find two more temples. The gate to the courtyard is open. A sign at the entrance says photography is not allowed and violations will cost 80 euros. It's unclear what role this temple plays in the monastery. It’s likely the residence of the highest Lama of the Yellow Hat monks in Labrang. The temples themselves are closed. At the golden Gong Tang Pagoda stupa, a Chinese sign by the gate shows only the number ‘20’. Presumably, that’s the fee to visit the stupa. It turns out that for this amount (about €2.50), you may also climb the stupa. That sounds special to me. A little while later, I’m looking out from the highest platform of the Gong Tang Pagoda over the entire monastery complex. I also see people walking the Kora—a three-kilometer pilgrimage circuit around the monastery

China - The monasteries of Labrang Monastery

. Along the route stand nearly 1,200 prayer wheels. Pilgrims walk the Kora while praying and spinning the wheels. Everything in Buddhism is aimed at coming closer to Nirvana in the next life. I walk part of the Kora myself and end up back at the entrance to the monastery. In a small restaurant with only a few tables, I order yak meat and mushrooms by pointing at a picture on the wall. It tastes fine. After lunch, we walk to a viewing platform. As I climb the stairs, I really notice that I’m at around 3,000 meters altitude. I ascend slowly. From the platform, I have a full view of the Labrang monastery complex. The view is actually more beautiful than I expected, especially the setting of the monastery and the mountains behind it. Above the mountains, a few vultures soar. They probably feasted this morning at the sky burial site. Tibetans don’t bury or cremate their dead, but offer them to the vultures. This helps them move closer to their next life. Back in the village, I order a beer. While looking out the window, I watch the passing scene of Tibetans and monks. In the evening, we have dinner at the Snow Mountain Inn—the same place we had a beer yesterday. Since the owner is Nepalese, there are also Nepalese dishes on the menu. The chicken in dhal, a spiced lentil soup, is delicious.