Labrang Monastery, Xiàhé

Labrang Monastery (Lābŭlèng Sì) is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelukpa (Yellow Hat) Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being Sera, Ganden and Drepung around Lhasa, Tashilhunpo in Shigatse and Kumbum (Tă'ĕr Sì) in Qinghai province. Labrang was built in 1709 by E'angzongzhe, the first generation Jiamuyang (living Buddha) who was born in nearby Ganjia.

The monastery housed around 4000 monks before the Cultural Revolution and today the numbers have recovered to about 1200 from across Tibet and those provinces with large Tibetan influences. Labrang is a major institution for learning housing the Institution of Esoteric Buddhism, Higher and Lower Institutes of Theology, Institute of Medicine, Institute of Astrology and the Institute of Law.

Labrang and the surrounding town of Xiàhé are both intriguing to get lost in whilst strolling the narrow lanes with the numerous pilgrims with the feeling of being in another age