Hall of Hayagriva

Gansu


A repository of vivid and bright murals, the hall encapsulates a startlingly fierce 12m-high effigy of Hayagriva – a wrathful manifestation of the usually calm Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) – with six arms and three faces. The hall is down a side lane almost directly across from the lane to the Barkhang.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Gansu attractions

1. Barkhang

0.15 MILES

The three-storey Barkhang serves as the monastery’s traditional printing temple. With rows upon rows of more than 20,000 wood blocks for printing, it’s…

2. Labrang Monastery

0.24 MILES

With its succession of squeaking prayer wheels (3km in total), hawks circling overhead and the throb of Tibetan longhorns resonating from the surrounding…

3. Gongtang Pagoda

0.31 MILES

With an interior splashed with murals and illuminated by a combination of yak-butter candles and electric lamps, the golden 31m-tall Gongtang Pagoda is a…

4. Snowland Art

0.39 MILES

Tucked away down the backstreets of Xiahe not far from Labrang Monastery, Snowland Art is a family-style fine art and handicrafts training school set up…

5. Hermitage Ruins

0.49 MILES

What remains of this hermitage are earthen walls overgrown with nettles, making the real attraction here the view of the town nestled into the mountains…

6. Nunnery

0.56 MILES

This nunnery is on the hill above the Tibetan part of Xiahe. The outer kora (pilgrim path) begins just to the left of here.

7. Thangka Display Terrace

0.56 MILES

The best morning views of the monastery come from the Thangka Display Terrace, a popular picnic spot.

8. Ngakpa Gompa

0.63 MILES

Visit this small Nyingmapa (Red Hat) school monastery to catch a glimpse of lay monks who wear striking red and white robes and have long, braided hair…