Ta'er Monastery

Also known as Kumbum Monastery, it is located in Huangzhong District, Xining City, Qinghai Province, and was founded in the twelfth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1379). It is named after the Great Silver Pagoda built in the Great Golden Tile Monastery to commemorate Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibetan, it is called 'Gonben Xianbalin,' meaning 'Maitreya Monastery of the Ten Thousand Lion's Roar Buddha Statues.' It is a national AAAA-rated tourist attraction. Ta'er Monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist teaching place in the northwest region and the largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in Qinghai Province. It is not only the Buddhist center of the five northwestern provinces but also the holy site of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The religious status and influence of Ta'er Monastery are renowned in China and Southeast Asia, and successive central governments have highly esteemed its religious status. Xining Station is about 39 kilometers away from Ta'er Monastery. You can book a half-day tour on the platform (30 yuan per person), and a small car will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel (near the train station). The monastery tour takes about 1 to 1.5 hours. Ticket price: 70 yuan (military preferential certificates are not exempt).