Lanzhou Bingling Labrang 5 Day Tour

is about 70km to the southwest of Lanzhou. "Bingling" means "ten of thousand Buddhus" in Tibetan language since there are many stone carved buddha sculptures here. Today the cliffs are isolated by the waters of Liujiaxia Reservoir on the Yellow River. So coming here it is a nice day out as well as for the cave art trip. The site is well preserved, including 183 caves, 694 Buddha stone statues, 82 earth buddha statues, more than 900 square meters'mural painting which are scattered around the cliff of 200 meter long and 60 meter high on the west bank. Back to Lanzhou after the day trip.

After breakfast, drive 358km and get to Xiahe County of Gangan Tibetan Autononous Prefecture. After check-in at our designated hotel, you will be arranged to visit , 14km southwest of Xiahe. Bound by the mountains and cut through by a river in the middle, Sangke Grassland is a natural prairie which looks like a green carpet rife with numerous colorful flowers. Horse riding will be on your own. Next you will visit a Tibetan family, which helps you know more about the shepherd's life style and local customs in depth. Back to Xiahe for overnight.

Today's highlight is focused on the , the buddhist center of Tibetan Buddhism and culture of the cross borders of Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan. Labrang Monastery is located on the north of Daxia River in the west of Xiahe County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province. This most important Tibetan monastery outside Tibet was first founded by Ngagong Tsunde, the first generation of Jamyang from nearby Ganjia in 1709. it is an important monastery of the Gelukpa or the Yellow Hat Sect. At its peak there were over 4000 monks. Currently there are over 3000 monks from Qinghai, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Tibet as well. You will visit the Institute of Medicine, three temples including the Grand Prayer Hall, Shou'an Temple, Shou'xi Temple and as well as Labrang Monastery Relic Musuem (Yak Butter sculpture). Then after lunch, you will be transferred back to Lanzhou and check in the hotel. The rest of the time is on your own.