Tashilhunpo Monastery

• Location: No.1 Jijilangka Road, Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region
• Recommended reason: The largest monastery in west Tibet
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00
• Recommended tour: 13 Days China Tibet Tour

Located at the foot of Mount Niseri, Tashilhunpo Monastery is not only the largest monastery in this area but also one of the top six Gelug monasteries in China. With the expansion and development, Tashilhunpo Monastery forms the majestic building complex. Tashilhunpo Monastery becomes more and more important, and it is collectively named "Top 4 Tibetan Buddha Monasteries" with the Gandan Monastery, the Sera Monastery and the Drepung Monastery. Its architecture structure also has a profound influence on other Tibetan Buddhist buildings.
 

History of Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo Monastery was built by the first Dalai Lama Gendun Juba in 1447. The first Shakyamuni Hall was completed one year later. After that, Cuoqin Hall was built for monks to practice and recite the scriptures and Lazhang Palace was built as monk's accommodation. Tashilhunpo Monastery formed an initial scale with 5 Buddhist halls, 12 Buddha statues, and nearly 200 monks. With the constant expansion, there were seven Buddha halls, three Dratsangs and 53 Buddha statues enshrining in the Tashilhunpo Monastery. Besides, about 2,000 painted and stone-carving Buddha statues were distributing in the Buddha halls and scripture halls. There were more than 1,600 monks living in the monastery. They came from the west Tibet, Ngari Prefecture, Nepal, Kashmir, etc. Tashilhunpo Monastery became the major ashram of Gelug Sect in the west of Tibet.
 

During the sixty-year management of the fourth Panchen master, he raised money and expanded the monastery. He established the Aba Dratsang for the Esoteric Buddhism in 1607 and set up a complete system for learning scriptures. During that period, there were 50,000 monks and 3,000 rooms, which made the Tashilhunpo Monastery become the largest monastery of the Gelug Sect in the west of Tibet and achieved the same status as the top three monasteries in Lhasa.

The Structure of Tashilhunpo Monastery

Covering an area of 150,000 square meters, Tashilhunpo Monastery is surrounded by palace walls with a circumference of 3,000 meters. There are 57 temples and 3,600 houses in the Tashilhunpo Monastery. The whole monastery is built down the hillside and backed by high mountains. Facing the sun, the temples of the Tashilhunpo Monastery are distributing with the hierarchical layout. The density of the arrangement shows harmony and symmetry.
 

Highlights of Tashilhunpo Monastery

The most magnificent buildings of the Tashilhunpo Monastery are the Great Maitreya Hall and the Panchen Coffin Tower Hall. The Great Maitreya Hall is located on the west side of the monastery with a height of 30 meters. It enshrines the Maitreya statue cast by the ninth Panchen Lama in 1914.

Cuoqin Hall

Cuoqin Hall is the earliest building in the Tashilhunpo Monastery. It took 12 years to complete it. There is a scriptures hall covered 500 square meters in front of the Cuoqin Hall. It is the place that the Panchen Lama teaches scriptures and the monks debate scriptures. Cuoqin Hall can hold about 2,000 people. In addition to the statues of the Buddha Shakyamuni and his disciples, the pillars on the two sides also carved with statues of the founder Gendun Juba and the fourth Panchen. The 11-meter high Maitreya Buddha built in 1461. It is enshrined on the left side of the Cuoqin Hall. The Maitreya Buddha was completed by artisans of Tibet and Nepal, which looks kind and merciful.
 

Qiangba Buddha Temple

Qiangba Buddha Temple is located on the west of the Tashilhunpo Monastery. Qiangba Buddha, also called the Buddha of the future in Tibetan, equals to the Maitreyan Buddha of Han nationality Buddhism. With a height of 30 meters, Qiangba Buddha Temple covers an architecture area of 862 square meters. As a five-storey building, the whole Qiangba Buddha Temple was made of stones, which looks a sense of solemnity. The most remarkable Buddha statue is the Qiangba Bronze Buddha Statue. It is the biggest bronze Buddha statue in the world. Qiangba Buddha Statue sits on a 3.8-meter high lotus throne and faces to the south, overlooking the whole temple. The statue is 26.2 meters high with the shoulder wide of 11.5 meters, the ear length of 2.8 meters and the feet length of 4.2 meters. The hand is 3.2 meters long and the middle finger is 1.2 meters long. The eyebrow was made from a super large diamond with a diameter of 3 centimeters, 32 diamonds with a diameter of one centimeter, more than 300 big pearls, over 1,400 ambers, corals and turquoises. Qiangba Buddha Statue is really a treasure in the giant sculptures.

Buddha Exhibition Platform

Buddha Exhibition Platform of the Tashilhunpo Monastery is unique in the Tibetan Gelug monasteries. Located in the northeast of the Tashilhunpo Monastery, Buddha Exhibition Platform was completed in 1468. It was built by the first Dalai Gendun Zhupa that is in memory of the birth, Buddhahood, and Nirvana of Shakyamuni. There is a grand Buddha exhibition activity. Three large-scale embroideries of the original Buddha (Amitabha), the current Buddha (Shakyamuni) and the further Buddha (Qiangba Buddha) will be hanged on the Buddha Exhibition Platform. This platform is 32 meters in height, 3.5 meters in thickness, 38 meters in the upper width and 42.5 meters in the lower width. The monks, believers and visitors will bow to worship the Buddha and give their Hadas, praying for a peaceful and harmonious life.

Best time to visit Tashilhunpo Monastery

You can visit the Tashilhunpo Monastery in all seasons, but summer is the best time.
 

How to Get to Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo Monastery lies in the west of Shigatse, so you take a taxi to get there.

Or you can take public bus No. 3 and get off at the Tashilhunpo Monastery Station.

Tips for visiting Tashilhunpo Monastery

Buddha hall is closed from 12:00 to 14:00. It takes about 3 hours to visit the whole monastery.