Labrang Monastery

Labrang Monastery Review

In the remote town of Xiahe, the monastery is a little piece of Tibet along the Gansu-Qinghai border. A world away from Lanzhou, Xiahe has experienced a dizzying rise in the number of travelers over the past decade. Even Tibetan monks clad in traditional fuchsia robes now surf the Internet, play basketball, and listen to pop music. Despite the encroaching modernity, Xiahe is still a wonderful place, attracting large numbers of pilgrims who come to study and to spin the 1,147 prayer wheels of the monastery daily, swathed in their distinctive costume of heavy woolen robes tied with brightly colored sashes. In 2008 foreign tourists were banned from Xiahe after the police crackdown of antigovernment riots in Lhasa and Tibetan areas, including Xiahe. Now travel restrictions are sometimes in place, especially around sensitive anniversaries and dates like the May national holiday. Check on online forums or with your travel agent for up-to-date information.

The Labrang Monastery is the largest Tibetan lamasery outside Tibet. Founded in 1710, it once had as many as 4,000 monks, a number much depleted due in large part to the Cultural Revolution, when monks were forced to return home and temples were destroyed. Though the monastery reopened in 1980, the government's continued policy of restricted enrollment has kept the number of monks down to about 1,500.

There are two ways to reach Xiahe: by public bus or by private tour. Buses for Xiahe leave from Lanzhou's South Station (Qiche Nanzhan) every hour or two starting at 7:30 am and take five hours. Make sure to purchase tickets in advance, as some departures require travel insurance (baoxian). Also, have two photocopies of your visa and passport information on hand just in case they are required.