Lajia Temple

Lajia Temple is located at the foot of Aniqungong Mountain, Lajia Township, on the north bank of the Yellow River in Maqin County, Qinghai Province. It is located in a canyon, with low altitude, humid climate, mostly fertile fields along the coast, and beautiful and charming natural scenery. Lajia Temple, also known as "Jiaxiang Temple", is a very famous Gelug monastery along the Yellow River. "Laga" is a Tibetan transliteration, referring to the four dislikes, that is, the elk. It is said that when Raja Monastery broke ground, a four-looking elephant was found, so the monastery took its name from it. The monastery was founded by Arou Geshe and is a monastery of Sera Monastery. The main Buddha statues enshrined in the temple are Sakyamuni, Tsongkhapa, Padmasambhava, Thousand Eyes and Thousand Hands Avalokitesvara, Longevity Buddha, Six Arms Anti-Dharma Protection and so on. The architecture of the temple has both the characteristics of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and the architectural style of Han monasteries. The whole temple building forms a small building complex, similar to the architectural style of the classical gardens in the Central Plains. The whole monastery is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the terrain is beautiful. Backed by the verdant pines and cypresses of Amenilegong Mountain, the scenery is very pleasant under the flowing silk-like streams. The monastery has a large scripture hall "Tuosanglin", which is in charge of the whole monastery. There is also a Bodhi Pagoda. Among them, the Shakyamuni Hall was built in the Qianlong era and has a very long history. There have been many eminent monks in the temple in the past dynasties, and many writings have been handed down. Among them, Xihe Zuosangre's "Summary of Calendar", Xiangsa's "Theory of Demonstration", "Theory of Cause" and "Complete Works of Saikangwa" have considerable influence in Tibetan areas. The sutra printing house of the monastery once kept more than 50,000 pieces of Muhai steamed buns such as "Ganzhuer".