Brief information on Tashilunpo Monastery  

Tashilunpo Monastery is one of the biggest temples in Tibet, and is one of the six temples of the Gelugpa sect; the other 5 being the Ta’er Monastery, Labrang Monastery, Drepung monastery, Gandan Monastery and Sera monastery. The government has put enormous amounts of money into reconstruction of the temple, its splendidness making a deep impression on the visitors.

Tashilunpo Monastery was built and founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama and enlarged by the Fourth Panchen Lama. It lies on the western side of Shigatse and covers an area of nearly 300,000 square meters. Visitors can see the Tashilunpo Monastery with its golden roof and white walls glittering under the sunshine. It has been home to the Fourth and successive Panchen Lamas. There are 14 golden roofs, 56 scripture halls, 3600 houses and more than 800 monks in the Tashilunpo Monastery.

If you go straight from the entrance of the temple and turn left, you can see the Byams-pa Hall, the most magnificent hall in Tashilunpo Monastery.  Byams-pa Hall was built in 1461 and is 30 meters high. The statue of Byams-pa is in the hall, and is the biggest bronze statue in the world. It was finished by 900 craftsmen and took 9 years. The solemn sculptures and delicate artwork reflect the superb skills of the Tibetans.

To the northeast of the Tashilunpo Monastery stands the tallest building in the monastery, built in 1468. This Buddha platform is the only one amongst temples in Tibet, and has become part of the defining landscape.

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

   

Chinese Pinyin: Zha Shi Lun Bu Si
Opening Times:09:00 - 17:00(closed for lunch from 12:00 to 14:00)
Ticket Price: CNY 55
Location:The west of Shigatse, 280km the west of Lhasa