1-Day Shangri-La Monastery and Thangka Tour

After breakfast, your driver and tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in Dukezong Ancient town and take you to Songzanlin Monastery, also called ‘Little Potala Palace’ as this 17th century monastery is modeled after the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It is the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan with over 700 monks actively practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Afterwards we will visit a local Tibetan family to experience the real Tibetan life and hospitality.

After lunch, you will take a look at Baiji Temple, which literally means “hundred chickens temple” in Chinese and is very close to Dukezong Ancient Town. From this temple you can enjoy a wonderful birds-eye view of the city and see many, many chickens. The chickens are really incredible indeed and if you want to know their story and why they crossed the road to live in a monastery, you will have to go there to find the answer.

Then we will go back to Dukezong Ancient Town to learn how to make Thangka. The process of making Thangka is complex and full of rituals, and it must be done in accordance with the requirements of the scriptures and the rituals of a Guru. There are different steps like ceremony, canvas making, composition, dyeing, and design.