Visiting Gannan in northwest China

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Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located in the southwest of Gansu Province, northwest China, on the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It was once one of the main entryways to the ancient Silk Road.

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Sangke Grassland

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Every year on the 13th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, the seven major tribes around Sangke Grassland will hold a horse racing festival during which nomads gather on the grassland and tents are seen everywhere, making the atmosphere very lively. The scenery of the grasslands can be seen along the road, and once on the grassland, people can participate in activities such as campfires party, horseback riding and enjoying nature.

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Zhagana

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Zhagana is a Tibetan village hidden in the high mountains, where the peaks are towering and the tallest mountain rises to 4,500 meters above sea level.

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Gahai Lake

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Gahai Lake is an undeveloped lake that lies as if a sleeping beauty in the embrace of the Gannan grasslands.

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At the same time, it is also the largest freshwater lake in Gannan, which is rich in vegetation, and is the home to varieties  of rare birds.

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Labrang Monastery

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Labrang Monastery, one of the six major monasteries of Gelug sect in Tibetan Buddhist in China, is the most famous Tibetan tantric Buddhist school in the world. It possesses the most complete teaching system of Tibetan Buddhism in China and has been hailed as the “World Institute of Tibetology”. At its height, there were as many as more than 4,000 monks at the monastery, second only to the Potala Palace.

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There are more than 10,000 ethnic cultural relics and Buddhist artworks collected in the monastery. There is a large variety of Buddhist statues, ancient texts, and murals.

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The exterior wall is comprised of more than 2,000 prayer wheels and it takes at least one hour to turn all of the prayer wheels.