Kumbum Monastery

Located in Huangzhong County, Xining, Ta'er Temple has a history of more than 400 years. It is one of the important temples of the Gelug Sect (Yellow Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism and the birthplace of Master Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow Sect. The temple has magnificent architecture, rich treasures, and a strong religious atmosphere. It is one of the more popular tourist destinations in Xining. Overview of the Tour Ta'er Temple is obviously different from the Han Buddhist temples in the mainland in terms of architectural layout: the building complex of Ta'er Temple is not symmetrical along the central axis and is not deep. Ta'er Temple is an ancient building complex composed of many halls, scripture halls, pagodas, and colleges. Each scripture hall, hall, and pagoda are irregularly distributed on a small hill. When tourists are playing, the route is more casual, rather than walking along the central axis. When visiting Ta'er Temple, if you do not enter the scripture hall or hall, but just wander around outside, you do not need to buy a ticket. You only need to check your ticket when entering some scripture halls or halls open to the public. If you come here, I suggest you buy a ticket to visit, because if you don't enter the main hall and the Sutra Court, you can't worship the incarnation of Master Tsongkhapa, nor can you appreciate the "three wonders" in the temple. There are currently more than a dozen courtyards and main halls in Ta'er Monastery open to tourists. There is a Guide service at the ticket office of Ta'er Monastery. It is recommended to hire a tour Guide , because the historical connotation of Ta'er Monastery is very profound. Without the Guide of the Guide , you will miss many interesting stories. Dajinwa Temple (Hall) Dajinwa Temple is the center of the entire building complex. Legend has it that Master Tsongkhapa was born here. When the master was born, his umbilical cord blood dripped here, and then a bodhi tree grew. Later, a tower was built outside the tree and a temple was built, and Ta'er Monastery got its name. Believers believe that this tree and this tower are the incarnation of the master.

The three wonders of Ta'er Monastery are butter sculptures, murals and pile embroidery. Butter sculptures are made of butter mixed with various colors of pigments and sculpted into various Buddha statues, figures, flowers, birds, animals, pavilions and towers. Visitors can visit the exquisite butter sculptures in the Butter Flower House in the temple (far away from the gate); in the main halls, corridors, front porches and other places in the temple, you can enjoy many colorful murals that are hundreds of years old, which are very exquisite; pile embroidery is made of colorful silks cut into various shapes required, such as Buddha statues, birds and animals, etc., filled with wool or cotton, and then embroidered on the cloth. In the large scripture hall in the temple, two rare large-scale pile embroidery groups of "Sixteen Arhats Showing Supernatural Powers" and "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" are hung on both sides. The four major ceremonies of Ta'er Monastery (based on the lunar calendar) are: 1. Jumping on the 14th day of the first lunar month, butter flower exhibition (the 15th day of the first lunar month); 2. Jumping on the 14th day of the fourth lunar month, sunning the Buddha, jumping on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month; 3. Sunning the Buddha, jumping on the 6th day of the sixth lunar month, and turning the golden Buddha (the 8th day of the sixth lunar month); 4. Sunning the Buddha all day (the 22nd day of the ninth lunar month), jumping on the 23rd day of the ninth lunar month. During the ceremonies, there will be various activities such as sunning the Buddha, performing Dharma dances, etc. There will be a lot of believers and tourists coming to worship, and the scene will be very lively.