Ta'er Monastery named national 5A tourist attraction

Ta'er Monastery in northwest China's Qinghai Province now ranks as a national 5A tourist area, the highest honor of China's tourist attractions.

Located 25 kilometers (15.53 miles) southwest to Xining City, the Ta'er Monastery is one of six famous monasteries in the Gelugpa Sect (also called Yellow Hat Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism. It is said to be the birthplace of Zongkaba (1357-1419), the founder of the Gelugpa Sect.

Founded in 1379, the lamasery has a history of more than 600 years. It sits on the slopes of a mountain, covering an area of 600 mu (40 hectares). With a combination of Tibetan and Han architectural styles, it is a complex that embraces 9,300 structures, including scripture halls, Buddha halls, lamas' residences, and Buddhist pagodas.

Butter sculptures, mural paintings and embroidery are three spectaculars specialties of the Ta'er Lamasery.

We recommend:
PK! Who is real red carpet queen?	Liberated cover girls on Old Shanghai pictorials	Top10 beauties in court costumes of Qing Dynasty
Female stars hates HD camera ! I bet !	Looted jade seals from Old Summer Palace	Shocking! Stars' impressive outfits
Time to abandon Olympic obsession	Female stars' grins: too horrible to look at !	The silent beauty of the Summer Palace in winter