Guangzong Temple

Visitor information

Also known as

广宗寺

Scenic area grade

4A

City

Xining

Address

The heart of Helan Mountain

Coordinates

36.623178, 101.778916

About Guangzong Temple

Nanshi Temple, located deep within the Helan Mountains, is renowned as the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Alxa. It houses the spiritual stupa of the Sixth Dalai Lama. The mountain gate is marked with the name “Guangzong Temple,” which in Tibetan is known as “Gadan Danglin,” meaning “Dorje Guangzong Prefecture.” Originally, Nanshi Temple was home to 28 monasteries; eight of them were adorned with plaque names bestowed by the Qing emperors or the presidents of the Republic of China, leading to the popular nickname “Eight Great Temples.” Today, Jiala Sen, the current abbot of Nanshi Temple, points out that while it is referred to as the “Eight Great Temples,” five of the temples bearing plaques actually belong to three major temple systems—Nanshi, Beisi Temple (Fuyin Temple), Yanfu Temple, and others—and are considered subordinate temples of these three great temples.

Photos

More attractions in Xining

• Ta'er (Kumbum) Monastery — 5A
• Ta’er Temple Scenic Area，Xining 13 — 5A
• Xining Sports Park — 4A
• Qinghai Provincial Museum — 4A
• Qinghai Tibetan Medicine Culture Museum (Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum) — 4A
• Laoye Mountain Tourism Area — 4A
• Dan'ga'er Ancient City — 4A
• Xining Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Zoo — 4A

Frequently asked questions