Chonggu Monastery (冲古寺, Chonggu Gompa) is a Tibetan Gelugpa monastery in the Yading Nature Reserve, Daocheng County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
Basic Info
Location: At the foot of Chenrizig Snow Mountain (one of the three sacred Yading mountains), elevation 3,880 m.
Tibetan Name Meaning: “temple built on a filled lake” (or “temple under the lake”).
Affiliation: Branch of Gongga Langjiling Temple (Gelug school).
Founding: Believed to date to the Yuan Dynasty (over 700 years); exact origin unrecorded.
History & Legends
Founding Legend: Built by the monk Chökyi Gyaltsen to worship the three sacred mountains. Local lore says he sacrificed himself to end a plague, and his body was buried upside-down at the temple.
Shangri-La Link: In 1928, explorer Joseph Rock stayed here and wrote for National Geographic, inspiring Hilton’s Lost Horizon → often called a Shangri-La prototype.
Condition: Partially ruined (damaged during the Cultural Revolution), later renovated.
Architecture & Highlights
Style: Traditional Tibetan stone‑wood structure, white walls, red roof, golden eaves.
Main Hall: Houses statues of Shakyamuni, Tsongkhapa, Avalokiteshvara.
Views: Best spot to view the three sacred mountains: Chenrizig, Jampayang, Chanadorji.
Prayer Flag Forest: Surrounded by countless colorful prayer flags.
Visiting
Opening Hours: 7:00–17:00 (admission until 16:00).
Ticket: Free (included in Yading entrance fee).
Role: Start/end of Yading’s small and middle kora (pilgrimage circuits).
