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Shardzong Hermitage or Shardzong Ritro is a Geluk hermitage located in the Tsongkha region of Amdo and situated on a slope of Amnye Chi Ri, is one of four major meditation sites in Amdo. It was founded by the 4th Karmapa (1340–1383) at the beginning of the 14th century. It is in this monastery that the 4th Karmapa conferred the first vows to Tsongkhapa (1357–1419). At the time of this ceremony, the Karmapa cut a wick of hair of the child, then sent it on a close boulder of the cave where he lived, creating a crack in the rock. A Juniper exhaling an odor of human hair and still visible these days would have grown from it. At the time of his return from China, the 13th Dalai Lama, stayed for a while in this monastery, finding the place magnificent, and gazing at the house of his next reincarnation. Legend states that Faxian (337-422) stayed at the location while traveling to India.
The hermitage was expanded over time and in 1383, a temple hall and stupa were built to commemorate the Fourth Karmapa. The site was partially destroyed during the cultural revolution. As of 1999, there were four monks at the hermitage. Shadzong Monastery is in the Ping’an county about 30km to the east from Xining, some 28km southwest of Pingan and also within Sanhe township, there is the Shadzong ritro where relics of Chinese pilgrim Fa xian where once housed, Fa xian passed through Sanhe en route for India in 399D. The buildings with caves constructed on a slope of a small hill were expanded on the basis of the cave where 4th Karmapa lived and mediated. The 2nd Taktser Rinpoche built statues of Sakyamuni and Maitreya at the temple. Later, the 3rd Taktser Rinpoche Lobsang Kedrup Nyima also built a new assembly hall again. As a result, Shardzong Ritro developed into a larger-scale monastery, with the Kumbum as the mother monastery. Taktser Rinpoche is the head lama of Shadzong Ritro.
