Qinghai Sangzhu Hostel

XINING, TA'ER SI MONASTERY

by swesn

Besides Labrang, the other important Yellow Hat Sect Tibetan Monastery in China, the Ta'er Si Monastery was located near Xining.

While this monastery was swarmed with more tourists than monks, I still found the temples very interesting and special.

One thing that stood out was the yak-butter sculptures in Temple No. 7. The two yak-butter sculptures were huge, spanning the width of the temple and top-heavy. Cooled by Mitsubishi air-con, they were painted with colours and had many Buddhism stories, icons carved out of it. The displays were breath-taking. If I heard the tour guide explaining to a nearby group properly, the sculptures were melted down every winter and redone. Who would have the heart to melt them down?