Fun things to do in Gansu Sheng

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If you take a walk through Sertri Gompa monastery and keep going towards the mountains you will find the mediation cave. This has been used by monks for centuries and is primarily used as a test for a strong spirit.

The belief is that when you die your spirit lies in limbo for several weeks before it is reincarnated. This time is very scary but if you test your spirit beforehand you know that you can handle it. The test is that you need to crawl through a small tunnel inside the cave and once done you are prepared for death. Interesting!!

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Just outside of Sertri Gompa monastery are the water prayer wheels. They are situated on top of a small stream and the force of the water makes the wheels turn sending prayers to the Gods.

This is a very pretty sight on your way to the mediation cave and on into the mountains.

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Both these large monasteries are of the Gelukpa sect of Buddhism of which the Gandam Tripa is the head priest. It was the 53rd Gandam Tripa who founded the Srtri Gompa (seat of gold) in 1748.

During the Cultural Revolution the monastery was totally devasteed, however reconstruction began in 1981. It is once again a working monastery and the home of approximately 400 monks.

The large Kirti Gompa on the southern hil was also ruined during the Cultural Revolution but is now the home of some 700 resident monks. Its former Lams, Kirti Tulku fled to India during the Cultural Revolution and founded a monastery in Dharamsala, where he has also held office in the Tibetan Government in Exile.

These two monasteries have enaged in an old age power struggle for control and influence over the surrounding nomadic areas. The settling of the provincial boundaries in between the two is a modern incarnation of this centuries old rivalry.

During the summer the graslands are filled with yak and nomadtents. Almost every grouptour visits a nomadfamily. Our group brought some presents (bread and fruit) and a small amount of money. The local guide asked the family if we could visit. In one case the tent was too small for our group, in the second case there were only children around, but they agreed. The local guide showed us how to make the famous yakbutter tea and tsampa.

The first stupa in Tibet is right next to the entrance gate. It is nothing special but it is the first stupa. It is called the stupa of Zhaxi Sinun. There is a caretaker on the grounds, opening the offerblock so you can donate....... Ofcourse you don't have to

Tibet used to be much larger than the TAR (Tibetan Autonomous Region) is today. The areas of Kham and Amdo belonged to it too.
When you enter the Amdo area in the Gansu province on your way from Langzhou to Xiahe, you go under a gate with Tibetan symbols on top.

The Western beginning ot China's Great Wall is located at Gansu province at the beautiful canyon shown in this photograph. From here, the Great Wall will stretch thousands of miles all the way to the East where it ends at the famous Shanhai Pass facing the Yellow Sea.

Yellow River or Huanghe in Chinese is a famous river and the second longest in China next to the Yangtze River. It is famous for its yellow colour, frequent floods and changing courses throughout history as well as providing fertile soil for farming along its banks.