Gonlung Monastery (Gönlung Jampa Ling | Youning Temple / 佑宁寺)
Basic Info
A core Gelug landmark in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, 65km northeast of Xining, Qinghai. Full Tibetan name Gönlung Jampa Ling, meaning Maitreya Sanctuary in Hermit Valley; titled “Mother of all Northern Huangshui Monasteries”, one of Amdo’s four great historic shrines.
Brief History
Predestined for construction by the 3rd Dalai Lama during his sermon here in 1584; formally founded in 1604 by Lama Tshendö Chökyi Gyamtso on dispatch of the 4th Dalai & 4th Panchen Lama. At its Qing golden age, it held over 7,000 monks, 2,000 courtyard buildings and four full academic colleges: Vinaya, Tantra, Kalachakra & Tibetan Medicine, governing 49 affiliate monasteries across Amdo. Ruined twice in 1723 and 1866; rebuilt with Qing imperial funding and renamed Youning Temple by Emperor Yongzheng. Famous as the ancestral seat of Changkya, Thuken and Sumpa great living Buddha lineages, pivotal for Sino-Tibetan religious diplomacy in Qing China. Restoration launched from the 1980s, now a National Key Cultural Relic Site.
Architecture & Features
Tiered golden-roofed halls built along a lotus-shaped mountain basin, blending Tibetan monastic framework and Han imperial decorative craftsmanship. Highlights include the grand Main Assembly Hall, outdoor bronze Tara statue, ancient white stupa cluster and cliffside meditation grottoes scattered on surrounding slopes.
Nestled in a lush mountain valley near Xining, Gonlung ranks among Amdo’s most revered Gelug shrines, nicknamed the Mother of Northern Huangshui Monasteries. Founded in 1604 under Dalai Lama’s authorization, it once flourished as a leading Buddhist academy with thousands of monks and eminent Changkya & Thuken lamas. Destroyed twice through wars and renamed by Qing emperors, its restored gilded halls harmoniously merge Han-Tibetan architectural art amid quiet forested hills.
