Xiaqiong Monastery
The Xiaqiong Monastery is a provincial-level cultural relic protected site in Hualong County, Qinghai Province. It is located 95 kilometers from the provincial capital of Xining, 15-kilometer on the south stretch of Linping Highway. It is a famous religious and cultural tourism destination.
The Xiaqiong Monastery was built in the year 1394 and is one of the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Qinghai, with the total area of 270,000 square meters.
It is the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Master Tsongkhapa had many disciples, whose two lineages are the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama.
The third, seventh, and thirteenth Dalai Lamas, once made donations to rebuild the palace hall of Xiaqiong Monastery, making it even more beautifully decorated.
The first batch of masters from this monastery have served as teachers to the seventh and eighth Dalai Lamas, the ninth Panchen Lama, and the third Zhangjia Lama.
In 1788, the Emperor Qianlong, Qing Dynasty named it “Powerful & Clean Monastery”, bestowing four plaques with the words “Flourishing Place of Buddhism” engraved in gold in Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Manchurian languages.
Since its founding, the Xiaqiong Monastery has built successfully the Miaoyin Bodhisattva Hall, Maitreya Hall, Goldcrest Hall, Atisha Hall, Vajra Hall, Zhizha Buddha Hall, Incense Hall, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Hall, Jianhe Maitreya Hall, Mountain Buddha Hall, Protector Deity Hall, and eleven other halls, constituting a combination of Han and Tibetan art styles in the ancient architecture.