# Qamba Ling Monastery (强巴林寺)

Qamdo, Tibet Autonomous Region · Southwest, China · Guidebook rating: 4/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/qamba-ling-monastery
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** Free
- **Opening hours:** 2026.01.01-2026.12.31 open all day
- **Time needed:** 2 hours
- **Address:** National Highway G317, Karuo District, Qamdo City, Tibet Autonomous Region
- **Getting there:** Take a taxi from the city centre of Qamdo. The fare is about ¥8.
- **Good for:** Temples

## About Qamba Ling Monastery

Qamba Ling Monastery was founded in 1444 by Xirao Songbu, a disciple of Tsongkhapa, and is the largest monastery in the Kham region. The monastery still preserves a bronze seal issued by the Qing court in 1719 to the Pabala Living Buddha.
Qamba Ling has five lineages of living Buddhas and 12 dratsang (colleges). At its peak it housed more than 5,000 monks and administered 70 smaller temples in the surrounding area.
The main buildings are well preserved. The assembly halls contain hundreds of Buddha and eminent monk statues, thousands of square metres of murals and many thangkas. The Guqing (古庆) sacred dance of Qamba Ling is famed across the snowy plateau for its fearsome, lifelike masks, orderly and graceful movements and grand spectacle. Qamdo Tibetan opera, which takes this monastery's religious dance as its form, has developed a distinct style that sets it apart across all of Tibet.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 611. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
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