Brief information on Trandruk Monastery  

Located in the south of Tsetang, Trandruk Monastery was built under the reign of Songtsen Gampo, an important king of Tibet. With a history of over 1300 years, it is one of the oldest monasteries and the first Buddha hall in Tibet.

In Tibetan, Trandruk means dragon and eagle. There is a legend about how the monastery got its name: once upon a time, before the construction of the monastery, there was a very deep lake on the site and a dragon with five heads lived in the lake. Nobody could control the monster until Songtsen Gampo began his reign. He ordered that a castle should be built on this site to control the monster. After discussion with his ministers, Songtsen Gampo decided to take a big eagle to lure the dragon out before attacking it. His ministers screeched like eagles around the lake to lure the dragon out. The dragon came out of the lake, then Songtsen Gampo and his ministers let the eagle go and the creatures began to fight. In the end, the dragon’s head was chopped off by the eagle’s wings. But to the king and his ministers’ surprise, the lake disappeared over the following seven days. Then, the construction of the monastery began and some pearls were buried on the site to remember the triumph of overcoming the evil dragon.

The monastery houses a great amount of treasure, the likes of which can seldom be seen elsewhere, like murals, religious paintings, Buddhists statues, Buddhist scriptures and so on. If you go to Tsetang, do not pass up a visit to the monastery.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Trandruk Monastery if you plan to visit Trandruk Monastery and have language problems.

   

Hours: 09:00-16:00
Adress: on the eastern bank of the Yalong River in the district of Shannan
Others:  Recommended Time for a Visit: Two hours