LABRANG MONASTERY

The Labrang Monastery is one of the largest geloupa monasteries outside the autonomous province; it is also the one that hosts the largest number of monks outside Tibet. It was founded in 1709 by Ngawang Tsöndru, a former abbot of Drepung, at the end of his life, and has housed up to 4 000 monks until the dark hours of China. Largely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution during which it closed for a decade, it was almost entirely rebuilt from 1970 and gradually develops to try to regain its antan of yesteryear. It now has 500 monks but mainly retains a very strong symbolic role for the entire Ancienne Tibetan region: this was one of the main places in the 2008 demonstrations. It also hosts many goloks pilgrims from the region and the Mongols. The monks are very welcoming and will allow you to attend debates.

The monastery contains 60 000 meeting rooms, six study institutes, a golden stupa, a débat of debate, and nearly sutras. And the visit usually includes the college of medicine, the gold temple of Ser Kung and the prayer room.