Lhagang Monastery (Tagong Monastery)
ལྷ་སྒང་དགོན།
A thousand-year-old Sakya monastery on Tagong Grassland, enshrining a Shakyamuni statue that shares its origin with the Jokhang Temple. The prayer flags and stupa forest behind it frame Yala Snow Mountain.
Tagong Monastery lies in Tagong Town, Kangding City. Its Tibetan name, Lhagang, means 'a place the bodhisattvas love'. Founded more than a thousand years ago, it belongs to the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism and is an important pilgrimage site in the Kham region. The main hall enshrines a Shakyamuni statue said to share its origin with the Jowo of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. Behind the monastery are dense rows of white stupas and prayer flags, and on clear days Yala Snow Mountain is visible. Admission is about 20 yuan (subject to on-site confirmation), and a visit takes about 1 hour. Transport: about 35 km north of Xinduqiao along the national highway. Notes: walk clockwise, do not photograph inside the halls, and dress appropriately.
Opening hours
About 08:00–18:00
Nearby sights
- Muya Golden Pagoda
- Tagong Grassland
- Mushi (Ink Stone) Park, Bamei
- Zhara Lhatse (Mount Yala) Viewpoint
- Yuzixi Viewpoint
- Huiyuan Monastery
- Xinduqiao
- Xinduqiao Gongga Snow Mountain Viewpoint