The monastery of Ta’er Si, a short drive south of Xining, is one of the more important temples in Tibetan Buddhism and certainly the best site for visitors in eastern Qinghai Province.  This is the Ruyi Dagoba, a series of eight Tibetan stupas greeting visitors at the monastery entrance.

Detail of a carved creature holding up one of those stupas.  The stupas depict eight major events in the life of Buddha, from birth to nirvana.

Two of the hundreds of monks who reside at the monastery.  Some of the monks here are the age of schoolchildren, and we came upon a group of them studying in one of the temple halls, all smiles as we walked through, chatting with us quietly so as not to raise the ire of their teacher nearby.  Some of the Chinese in our group asked them about their life at the monastery, and they said they like it; they have everything they need.  With Qinghai Province so poor, living here could well be a step up for them.

A large stupa near the entrance of Ta’er Si.  This place is also known as Kumbum Monastery, or - and here’s a mouthful - the Temple of the Infinite Number of Pictures of the Buddha.  The third Dalai Lama founded the monastery over four centuries ago; a smaller temple was already here for nearly two centuries before that.  The current Dalai Lama studied here in his younger days.

Eaves over the entrance to one of the monastery temples.  Ta’er Si belongs to the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism and was constructed on this site because the founder of the sect, Tsongkhapa, was born here, over six hundred years ago.

A dog on a temple roof surveys the tourists below - which brings up a story.  Among our nearly 170 trip participants in this two-week trip across China, only one injury took place that required the attention of our medical van personnel, and it occurred here at the monastery.  A Hong Kong man foolishly tried to pet a wild dog that had wandered onto the temple grounds, and the dog bit him.  Everything turned out fine, but the man took some ribbing for days afterward.

Up on the hillside, the Great Hall of the Gold Roof, the main structure at the monastery.  The story goes that when Tsongkhapa was born, a drop of his mother’s blood fell to the ground, and on that spot a massive sandalwood tree grew.  Its many leaves held pictures of Tibetan Buddhist deities - hence that long name for the temple.  That sandalwood tree still lives, wedged between the Great Hall of the Gold Roof and another temple structure.

Prayer wheels near the Great Hall of the Gold Roof.

Roof corner detail of the Great Hall, looking more Chinese than Tibetan.

Prayer wheels.  One unusual sight at the monastery is a large collection of carvings made out of yak butter - a Tibetan art form that goes back many centuries.  Photographing the sculptures was not allowed, but even if it had been, it would have been a challenge, with the displays in a darkened room refrigerated behind aged plexiglass.

A view of the Great Hall of the Gold Roof from the hillside behind it.  The gold roof is made of gilded bronze.

A young Chinese lady dressed in Tibetan garb, about to be photographed by her family.  She was kind enough to pose for me as well.

A variety of prayer wheels at Ta’er Si.

It’s safe to say that Ta’er Si today is not exactly as it was hundreds of years ago.  This is an ATM machine embedded in a new wall near the monastery entrance.

A final look at one of the eight stupas of the Ruyi Dagoba.  As with all monasteries in China, history has not been kind to Ta’er Si.  Fifty years ago it was home to some three thousand monks; today that number is closer to six hundred.  The monastery’s abbot, feeling pressured, left in 1998 and now resides in, of all places, Indiana.