Tibetannet

Just as if you have taken highway 318, going from Ranwuhu going in the direction of the glacier valleys, if you continue westward along the road, not very far away, you can see a Tibetan Buddhist Gelugpa monastery on the top of a high mountain. This is the Sang‘angqulin monastery, which is also called the Taba temple literally translating into the “Tantric Buddhist wheel temple”, and is located within the Guyu township of Zayu county of the Nyingchi  City  in Tibet.

Construction of the Sang‘angqulin monastery began in 1648, and up until today the monastery  has more than 400 years of history, it beholds profoundness. According to legend, the 5th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama onced had a foretelling in a dream, in order to make the lives of people living in the area of Zayu blessed and in good health, he arranged the disciples of the fourth DiMu Qutugtu Lawang Danbaijianzan to go and build a tantric sect monastery.

The Lawang monk, according to the 5th Dalai Lama made a pilgrimage to Beijing to see Emperor Shunzhi, he was granted a prestigious title, he checked in detail the land in the area and observed that the area had a snake mountain, a magic mountain and the protector deities of Buddhist law. Especially the collection of demons atop the magic mountain in the black rock mountains, which was also very resemblant of the back of a hand. Lawang decided at once to build the Sang‘angqulin school at the place that looked like the knuckles of the hand, and the Sang‘angqulin at the place that looked like the back of the hand.

It is said that, during those days, there were 2,900 households in the local place putting a lot of effort into building the ancient town and the ancient monastery. Jiazhilawang invited many skillful handicraftsmen and brought a lot of gold, silver and jewelry here, therefore the town and the monastery was built really sophisticatedly, making it really influential in the Kham area for a time.

Nowadays, the monastery is still there, yet the town has experienced damage throughout history, becoming a ruin where people come to pay their respects. Qingkejun following the media field trip group reached here after experiencing a lot of hardships to only see with his own eyes the scene of the ancient monastery and the ancient town.

The ancient monastery is located on top of the mountain, in the clouda. This monastery was restored in 1986, the photo is a panoramic view of the monastery after restoration.

The two stone columns stand majestically, the doubtful gate of the ancient town ruins witnesses the glory of the Sang’angqulin Monastery

The mouth of the cave within the town ruins, from where you can look down into the rural scene at the bottom of the mountain that is dimly visible.

A few hundred years ago, the ancient town was standing there together with the sacred mountain. Nowadays, the sacred mountain is still there, yet the town no longer looks like it used to.

The sacred mountain behind the town ruins, the top of the mountain is covered with clouds all year round, just like something seen in a fairyland.

The peach blossoms at other places have already gone, yet the peach blossoms in front of the ancient monastery are still looking splendid, making it a fragrant April time in the midst of the full-flowering of the peach blossoms.