The south of northwest China's Gansu province, known as the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, is regarded as a sacred land with a charming Tibetan Buddhist ambience, represented by the Labuleng Buddhist Monastery.

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The Monastery was built in 1710 by Jia Muyang, the first Living Buddha, and now it is the largest cultural center of the Tibetan Buddhism in Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces.

Located in the west of Xihe county, Labuleng Buddhist Monastery is the Tibetan religious and cultural center of the south of Gansu province. It is the largest Lamaist institution in the world, comprised of six colleges in different regions.

The architecture is a mixture of Tibetan architecture and ancient Chinese palaces, with golden iron tiles, cupreous goats, Buddhist wheels, flags for rites, and precious bottles on the top, as well as all kinds of vivid Buddhist sculptures.

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Labuleng Buddhist Monastery became well-known to Chinese people mostly because of veteran director Feng Xiaogang's 2005 year movie, "A World without Thieves." However, its sanctified status has been deep in the hearts of Gannan locals for thousands of years.

Every year, pilgrims from across China and around the world come to Labuleng Buddhist Monastery. The grand religious ceremonies are respectively held on January 4th-17th, and June 29th to July 15th on the Lunar calendar.

Labuleng Buddhist Monastery is seen as a holy land, not only in the eyes of local people, but also to those who are longing for purifying their heart and soul.

Photo by courtesy of likefar.com

Photo by courtesy of likefar.com