Ta��er Temple, Xining Travel Guide, Xining Tour, Xining Hotel, City Map, Climate, China Trip Xining: Elite China Travel

The Ta��er Temple is located at the southwest corner of Lusha��er Town in Niezhong County, Qinghai Province.

The Ta��er Temple is one of the six temples of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The whole complex includes the Large Gold Tile Hall, the Small Gold Tile Hall, the Longevity Hall, the Large Classics Hall, the Manjusri Bodhisattva Hall, the Sakyamuni Hall, the Hall for Warrior Attendants of Buddha, the Amitabha Buddha Hall, the Time Wheel Tower, the large kitchen, the Eight Towers for Buddha, the Passage Gate Tower and other buildings, covering over 600 mu (40 hectares).

Inside the temple, there are four academies, namely the Xian (evident) Sect, the Mi (secret) Sect, the Astronomic Academy and the Medical Academy. The academies of the Xian and Mi were the places where the senior monks studied the Buddhist classics and doctrines, while the other two were the institutions of higher learning to foster excellent scientific and technical talents for the Tibetan and Mongolian nationalities. As a combination of the Tibetan and Han forms, the complex has a unique style. The layout is compactly organized and the towering buildings display great momentum with a resplendent and magnificent view.

The Ta��er Temple was the birthplace of Zongkaba, the founder of the Gelug Sect. In the 12th year (1379) of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Zongkaba��s mother built a pagoda at the birthplace of her son, and a tiled house to shelter it. This is the oldest religious building in the Ta��er Temple. In the 39th year (1560) of the Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty, Monk Renqinzong Zhejianzan who was cultivating built a small Buddhist temple at the south foot of the Lotus Flower Mountain. In the 5th year (1577) of the Wanli reign in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a Buddhist monk built an Amitabha Buddha hall on the left side of the Daling Pagoda according to the order of the third Dalai Lama. After that, monks and disciples of all dynasties extended and refurbished the Ta��er Temple many times and made it more magnificent. It attracted tens of thousands of people in different nationalities such as the Tibetan, Han, Mongolian and so on to worship and became the center of Buddhist activities in the northwest. It enjoys fame far and wide and is the well-known Holy Land of Buddhism.

There are three famous arts called as three uniques in the Ta��er Temple, namely butter sculptures, frescos and barbolas. Butter sculptures are made of butters displaying various figures of Buddha, figures, birds and beasts, trees and flowers, elaborate Chinese architectures, religious stories and myths and others. They are vivid and lifelike with skillful handcrafts. Butter sculptures have a long history. It is said that in the 15th year (641) of the Zhenguan reign in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when Princess Wencheng of Tang married to Songtsan Gambo of Tubo, she brought a statue of Sakyamuni from the capital Chang��an. In order to express their respect, the disciples presented a bundle of butter sculptures in front of the statue of Buddha. Since then, it has become a custom of the Tibetan people. Butter sculptures were spread to the Ta��er Temple. The artist monks in the temple studied very hard and further developed this art on the subject and technology, thus it became a unique and excellent butter sculpturing art possessed by the Ta��er Temple.

There are four important Buddhist meetings (meeting to read classics) held in the Ta��er Temple, respectively in each lunar January, April, June and September. During the period, there are religious activities such as the sorcerer��s dance in trance (Master dance), bathing the Great Buddha in the sun (to show the respect), and displaying butter sculptures, etc.

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