Longwu Temple, Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Tongren, China.
Longwu Temple spans approximately 100 hectares with multiple prayer halls, featuring an 11-meter gilded statue of Tsongkhapa mounted on a 26-meter circumference platform within its grand hall supported by 164 pillars.
Rongwo Samten Rinpoche established a three-monastery site here in 1341, beginning with the Temple of 3 Buddhas; his brother designed the buildings. In 1630 Shartsang Kaldan Gyatso, recognized as Samten Rinpoche's first reincarnation, founded the present monastery and its Tsennyi Tratsang college. The Ming emperor bestowed a plaque reading "xiyushengjing" ("paradise of the western regions") in 1622, hung above the assembly hall door.
The monastery serves as the birthplace of Anduo Tibetan plays and houses four colleges dedicated to popular clan studies, closed clan studies, astronomy, and medical science, maintaining its role as a center for religious and scholarly pursuits.
The monastery lies 186 kilometres from Xining in Tongren County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai. It stands beside the Rongwo River, after which it is named. The site contains several colleges, including Tsennyi Tratsang, where Buddhist dialectics, vinaya, Madhyamika, Prajnaparamita and Abhidharma are still taught.
Longwu Temple exhibits a distinctive fusion of Tibetan and Han Chinese architectural styles with silk-thread adorned gates, flying eaves, and pavilion-like arches, while housing the first monastic college established in 1630 called Tsennyi Tratsang.
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