With its endless squeaking prayer wheels (3km in total length), hawks circling overhead and the throb of Tibetan longhorns resonating from the surrounding hills, Labrang is a monastery town unto itself. Many of the chapel halls are illuminated in a yellow glow by yak-butter lamps, their strong-smelling fuel scooped out from voluminous tubs.
Even if Tibet is not on your itinerary, the monastery sufficiently conveys the esoteric mystique of its devout persuasions, leaving indelible impressions of a deeply sacred domain.
In addition to the chapels, residences, golden-roofed temple halls and living quarters for the monks, Labrang is also home to six tratsang (monastic colleges or institutes), exploring esoteric Buddhism, theology, medicine, astrology and law.
Labrang Monastery was founded in 1709 by Ngagong Tsunde (E’angzongzhe in Chinese), the first-generation Jamyang (a line of reincarnated Rinpoches or living Buddhas ranking third in importance after the Dalai and Panchen lamas), from nearby Gānjiā. The monastery is one of the six major Tibetan monasteries of the Gelugpa order (Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism). The others are Ganden, Sera and Drepung monasteries near Lhasa; Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse; and Kumbum (Tǎ’ěr Sì) near Xīníng, Qīnghǎi.
At its peak, Labrang housed nearly 4000 monks, but their ranks greatly declined during the Cultural Revolution. Modern Labrang is again such a popular destination for young disciples that numbers are currently capped at 1800 monks, drawn from Qīnghǎi, Gānsù, Sìchuān and Inner Mongolia.
Main Buildings
The only way to visit the interior of the most important buildings is with a tour (no photos allowed inside), which generally includes the Institute of Medicine, the Manjushri Temple, the Serkung (Golden Temple) and the main Prayer Hall (Grand Sutra Hall), plus a museum of relics and yak-butter sculptures. English tours (per person ¥40) of the monastery leave the ticket office (售票处; shòupiàochù) around 10.15am and 3.15pm, and although they give lots to see, they can feel a bit rushed with only basic explanations for those with no knowledge of the workings of monasteries. Outside those times you can latch on to a Chinese tour, with little lost even if you don't understand the language. Even better is to show up at around 6am or 7am to be with the monks. At dusk the hillside resonates with the throaty sound of sutras being chanted behind the wooden doors.
Other Buildings
The rest of the monastery can be explored by walking the kora . Although many of the temple halls are padlocked shut, there are a couple of separate smaller chapels you can visit, though they can often be closed for unexplained reasons. Some charge admission.
The three-storey Barkhang is the monastery’s traditional printing press. With rows upon rows of more than 20,000 wood blocks for printing, it’s well worth a visit, and photos are allowed. The Barkhang is off the main road down a small side lane. Ask your guide for the latest opening hours.
The Hall of Hayagriva , destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, was reopened in 2007. A repository of vivid and bright murals, the hall also encapsulates a startlingly fierce 12m-high effigy of Hayagriva – a wrathful manifestation of the usually calm Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) – with six arms and three faces. The hall is down a side lane almost directly across from the lane to the Barkhang.
With an interior splashed with murals and illuminated by a combination of yak-butter lamps and electric light bulbs by the thousand, the 31m-tall Gòngtáng Chörten is a perennial favourite with visitors. Head up to the roof for landscape views. At the rear of the golden chörten (Tibetan stupa) look for a Sleeping Buddha (卧佛; Wòfó ), which depicts Sakyamuni on the cusp of entering nirvana. The stupa is accessed by gates that face the river. If you follow the kora path, you will pass by it.
Access to the rest of the monastery area is free, and you can easily spend several hours just walking around and soaking up the atmosphere in the endless maze of mud-packed walls. The Tibetan greeting in the local Amdo dialect is Cho day mo? ('How do you do?') – a great icebreaker.
The best morning views of the monastery come from the Thangka Display Terrace , a popular picnic spot, or the forested hills south of the main town.
