Sershul Monastery, Buddhist monastery in Sêrxü County, Sichuan, China

Sershul Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Sêrxü County, Sichuan, located at high altitude with multiple temples containing large prayer halls dedicated to the Gelug school. The complex houses numerous buildings where hundreds of resident monks study and practice their faith.

Sershul Monastery was established in 1701, according to the English Wikipedia; the Chinese Wikipedia gives the Qianlong 25th year (1760). It became the largest Gelugpa monastery in Kham and the religious centre of Sêrxü County, with a monastic university empowered to confer the geshe degree. In June 2007 it was listed as a provincial cultural relic of Sichuan. After the 2010 Yushu earthquake it sent 500 monks to rescue survivors and kept 500 to pray.

The monastery serves as a place where Buddhist teachings are studied and practiced daily, drawing pilgrims for major religious gatherings. Visitors encounter monks engaged in prayer rituals and can observe how this community keeps Tibetan Buddhist traditions alive through their routines.

Visitors should prepare for high altitude conditions with appropriate clothing, as temperatures are notably cooler at that elevation. When entering the temples, guests should move quietly and respectfully, taking care not to disrupt ongoing religious activities.

Among the monastery's relics are a wooden block and hammer said to have been used in initiation and penance ceremonies at Nalanda University in India in the Buddha's time, objects with histories of over 2,000 years. The upper gallery of the main temple also holds one of Je Tsongkhapa's teeth inside a sacred chorten.