Litang Monastery, Buddhist monastery in Litang County, China

Litang Monastery, also called Chamchen Chökhorling, is the largest Gelug school monastery in Kham, in Litang County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan. Its assembly hall seats 3,500 people, and the complex holds a tantric college and a sutra college, rebuilt in 1982 after the 1956 bombing.

The Third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso founded this site in 1580, converting a Bon worship location into a Gelug Buddhist institution. This transformation marked a major religious shift in the local spiritual landscape.

The monastery's Tibetan name, Chamchen Chokhorling, means "Great Loving One's Dharma Wheel Island"; locals also call it Lithang Gompa. A saying ranks it with Lhasa's three great monasteries and Amdo's Kumbum: "above the three of Lhasa, below Kumbum of Amdo, in between Litang's Chamchen Chokhorling." It is Kham's only Gelug monastery empowered to confer the Geshe degree.

The monastery stands at about 4,014 metres in Litang County, so plan a slow first day and watch for headaches or breathlessness. The great assembly hall holds around 3,500 people; the tantric college is closed to visitors. Look for the 16-metre Buddha statue and the murals of Buddha's life in the three-storey exoteric hall.

Each August, the Litang Horse Racing Festival takes place on surrounding grasslands where local riders display traditional horsemanship skills. This event links nomadic traditions with the region's spiritual life.