Xiahe

Three others and I woke at 5am to participate in the walk with the monks. Xiahe is home to the famed Labrang Tibetan Buddhist monastery, one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The town is populated largely by ethnic Tibetans. 

The monastary is huge covering dozens of city blocks and is surrounded by a high wall with many gates. The walk around this wall is called the Kora and consists primarily of countless prayer wheels and a few open temples. 

The prayer wheels are round drums, made of wood and or copper and brass. They are mounted on turntables that can be spun manually. They are painted with colorful Buddhist images and prayer scripts. 

We got in line with mostly town's people and a few monks and walked the circuit.  Some touched and turned every wheel softly chanting prayers and

bowing before temples, grave markers, and other religious images and sites.  Other dropped to the ground prostrating themselves repeatedly. 

The architecture and carvings of dragons and other religious images were beautiful. The gilded domes and spires were unique. The smell of incense was overwhelming in the temples. 

The local people have very dark brown skin and black hair. The women wear their hair in long neatly braided pigtails. Many wear men's fedora hats. If I didn't know better I could easily have been in Peru or Bolivia with the hats perched high on their heads and the long colorful woven dresses. 

In the morning during the procession I was asked by our tour leader to not take photos. We were the only tourists doing the walk. We soon spread out and I was alone. It was a quiet and peaceful two mile walk around the complex. 

Later in the morning we returned for a full guided tour of the monastery and I went back to capture some of what I had see. 

We toured three college buildings on the monastery-medicine, philosophy, and theology. The shrines were elaborately decorated with flowers, food and yak butter lamps. 

We were there on time for the lady morning prayers. One thousand monks chanting and playing drums and bells. Very unique sounds and smells. Our guide was a 23 year old monk with excellent English. There was money scattered over every altar in every shrine. Guess who the wealthiest inhabitants are in this village. 

In the afternoon I shared a private car with a fellow traveler and we visited the Heavenly Lake of the Good Fortune. 40 minutes out of town and 12,000 feet high was a small lake with a huge good Fortune shrine and bonfire. Thousands of prayer flags streamed up the mountain sides and millions of good fortune paper loitered the entire area. Amazing. 

 

 

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