Together with Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery, Gandan Monastery has long been hailed as one of the Three Great Monasteries in Tibet, and enjoyed a long history and a high prestige in Tibet.

Brief Info of Gandan Monastery

Rising thousands meters above sea level, located northeast of Lhasa city, the Gandan Monastery is nestled beside Lhasa River. In Tibetan language, "Gandan" equals a holy land which is believed to be created by Maitreya Buddha. Therefore, Tsongkhapa's body was placed in a pagoda in Gandan Monastery after his death in 1419 and ever since then his successors have been living in the monastery to this day. Today, there are about 90 pagodas well kept in Gandan Monastery. The construction of the monastery was ordered by Tsongkhapa in 1409. Ever since then it has been hailed as one of "the three great monasteries of Lhasa", and was once grated as the "Monastery of Longevity" by Emperor Yongzheng during Qing Dynasty. The monastery once housed over 4,000 monks when it came to its highest prosperity. In history the monastery has gone through a series of ups and downs. Most of buildings in the monastery are not the original ones but being restored in later times. There are about 24 pieces of reliefs which are themed on the Sixteen Arhats and Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhism and will only be displayed for three weeks every year, during the famous "Embroidered Thangka Festival of Gandan".

Main Buildings in Gandan Monastery

Under national protection, Gandan Monastery now houses more than 500 buildings. Tsochen, or Great Assembly Hall, is the major building acros the whole monastery. Behind the hall stands the Yangbajian Heavenly Hall, at the back of which is a huge stone that are believed to come from Yangbajian of India. What makes the Yangbajian so special is the Sidongkang--a hall for housing the silver pagodas of Tsongkhapa and Gandan Tripas. Chiduogang is the room housing Tsongkhapa and Gandan Tripas and boasts as one of the oldest buildings in the monastery. The hall was expanded in 1720 and afterwards was decorated with a golden rooftop by Kelsang Gyatso, the Seventh Dalai Lama. Xiazi Tratsang and Jiangzi Tratsang, house two Buddhist schools in Gandan Monastery, which can sit some 3000 lamas. In addition, the cave located on the peak of the monastery is believed to be the site where Tsongkhapa used to meditate.

All in all, Gandan Monastery will be worthy of your money and time during travel in Tibet.