Photos

Kumbum Monastery was founded in the 16th century to mark the birthplace of the founder of the Gelongpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

In its heyday the monastory housed over 3000 monks. These days the number of resident monks is closer to 400.

Yet, Kumbum is still a major pilgrimage for believers and scholars, as well as a vast repository of Tibetan art and culture.

It lies in the old Tibetan region of Amdo, in the west in the Chinese province of Qinghai. It can be visited on a daytrip from the capital Xining.

In Chinese Kumbum is often refred to as Ta'er Si (塔尔寺), which means 'Little Tower Temple'.

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This picture shows a detail from a door. The red colour is typical Chinese, the cloth decorations are Tibetan.