Wutun Monastery in Tongren County, Huangnan

Attractions Overview

The Wutun Temple, being divided into the "lower" and "upper" temple, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Tongren, Huangnan Prefecture. The temple is widely renowned across Qinghai, these two temples combine a comprehensive record of the religious history of Tongren and Qinghai.

English Name: Wutun Monastery in Tongren County, Huangnan
Type: Huangnan Scenic Area, Huangnan famous spots & Huangnan attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 2-3 hours

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Why is Wutun Monastery So Special?

The two monasteries of Wutun Si each have their own art school, and you can meet painters and buy thangkas at workshops within the monastery walls. Wutun Monastery is “Ga Dan Peng Cuoqu Lin” in Tibetan where the meaning is “friendly garden filling Fazhou”. Wutun lamasery has the most concentration of Regong art works collection, Wall paintings, embroideries, color paintings and sculpture of Wutun lamasery enjoy high fames among travelers, truly a museum of Buddhist art.

Where is Wutun Monastery

The Wutun Temple, being divided into the “lower” and “upper” temple, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Tongren, Huangnan Prefecture. The temple is widely renowned across Qinghai, these two temples combine a comprehensive record of the religious history of Tongren and Qinghai.

History of Wutun Monastery

According to the record of Anduo Zhengjiao history, this temple was built around 1385. In the temple, there are copper figures of Master Zongkaba, Shijia Buddha, and scriptures such as Ganzhuer and so on. Shijia Hall and Mile Hall are newly built. Because Zhigeri’eren-bamahaimudawa, the fourth host of this temple is a disciple of the first Xiaricang, gadanjiacuo, so this temple is called descending temple of Longwu Temple. This temple is reputed as the cradle of ‘art talent.’ For a long time, this temple has cultivated groups of art talent for the society. Master hand and famous expert emerge in an endless stream. Presently, among monks of this temple, there are 22 painters. Xiawucairang, a famous old painter and art master, is a great master of one generation who has been a monk of this temple. Frescoes and statues of most temples in Tibetan area and Anduo Tibetan area are made by Wutun artists.

Main Attraction of Wutun Monastery

Wutun monasteryWutun Temple is the one that collects the most typical and largest quantity of Regong artistic works. Regong art originated in the 15th Century around the Longwu River basin, in what is today Tongren County, a part of Qinghai Province’s Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Over the centuries Tongren County has cultivated numerous folk artists engaged in Buddhist painting and sculpture, hence its reputation as “Hhe Home of Tibetan Painters. “Tongren in the Tibetan language is referred to as “Regong,”so local art forms are together called “Regong art.” In part because this place is the home of Regong art, each year Huangnan prefecture attracts a large number of visitors from both home and abroad. It has become the third hottest tourist destination in Qinghai Province, only after the Qinghai Lake and the Kumbum Monastery. Many distinguished Regong artistic works are preserved in Wutun Temple. Of the fresco, heap embroidery, colored painting, and sculpture in this temple, the painting is delicate and the color is bright. The painting and color fully display the fluency and sense of rhythm of line, and third dimension and dynamic sense of picture. Its strong artistic infectivity enjoys high reputation in tourism kingdom.

Best Time to Travel Wutun Monastery

The best time to travel is late spring and early summer.

Rain and heat in the same season, dry and wet season difference is obvious; Insufficient heat, short frost-free period, large precipitation variability and uneven spatial and temporal distribution; Long illumination time and strong solar radiation; The cold season is long, dry and cold, while the warm season is short, moist and cool.