Located to the west of Xiahe County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu, Labrang Monastery is known as one of the most important monasteries of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism .

History of the monastery

The Labrang Monastery has had its fair share of woes and golden times. It was built in 1709 by a Lama named E'angzongzhe, who was to become the first of the monastery's Living Buddhas (Jiemuyang). The place was to live in relative peace until the 1920s when the Muslims and Tibetans had numerous battles in this region. Again in the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), the region was in chaos. The monastery was temporarily shut down, and was not reopened until 1980. Reconstruction and expansion of the monastery was under way ever since.

Covering an area of 1,234 mu (a Chinese unit of area equal to 1/15 of a hectare), the monastery is presently home for two thousand Lamas coming from across Northwest China. The present head lama, 3rd in religious importance behind the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, is the sixth incarnation of the Jiemuyang.

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