Atlas of China
Shalu Monastery 夏鲁寺Xiàlǔ Sì
National heritage site · Shigatse, Tibet
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Days to budget
- Half a day
- City
- Shigatse
- Region
- Tibet
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- National heritage site
About Shalu Monastery
Shalu Monastery, founded in the 11th century in a side valley south-east of Shigatse, is the mother monastery of the small Shalu (or Butön) school, founded by its 14th-century abbot Butön Rinchen Drub, the scholar who edited the Tibetan Buddhist canon. After an earthquake in 1329 it was rebuilt with craftsmen sent from the Yuan court, so its main hall has Tibetan walls under green glazed-tile roofs in Chinese style. Most of its murals and sculptures date from that rebuilding, and the old wall paintings in its chapels and corridors are the main reason to visit.
How to get to Shalu Monastery
About 25 km by road south-east of Shigatse, just off the Shigatse–Gyantse road (G349); carry your passport for road checkpoints.
Nearby
- Tashilhunpo Monastery 扎什伦布寺 20 km
The seat of the Panchen Lamas, with a 26-metre gilded Maitreya and a giant thangka wall
On the map
Open Shalu Monastery on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.
Open Shalu Monastery on the map