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.

Standing on open grasslands outside Huzhu near Xining, Quzang Monastery is a prestigious Amdo Gelug shrine built in 1649 with Qing imperial recognition. Once famed for its gilded Thousand-Buddha Hall and imperial Nine-Dragon Wall, the temple endured severe destruction before systematic restoration from the 1980s. Framed by pine-cloaked hills and wetlands, it remains a vital local pilgrimage centre blending Han imperial craftsmanship and traditional Tibetan monastic architecture.

Tucked in forested mountain valleys near Xining, Serkog Monastery ranks among Amdo’s four historic great Gelug shrines. Established in the early Qing Dynasty with imperial authorization, it once thrived as a pivotal Buddhist learning hub governing numerous affiliate temples. Its signature clustered multi-tiered white stupas stand out against green hills, embodying harmonious fusion of Han and Tibetan building craft and remaining a revered pilgrimage landmark of eastern Qinghai.

Perched on precipitous cliffs beside the Yellow River in Qinghai, Dandou Temple marks the sacred birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism’s Later Diffusion. After the 9th-century religious persecution in Tibet, three refugee monks settled in local caves and educated master Lachen Gongpa Rabsel here. His disciples later carried intact Buddhist precepts back to central Tibet and revived declining Dharma. Blending grotto chambers and traditional monastic construction, the cliff-hugging complex remains a revered spiritual landmark of Amdo after over a thousand years.

Known as the Little Forbidden City of Qinghai, Qutan Temple is a rare Ming-dynasty imperial Tibetan Buddhist shrine near Xining. Commissioned by early Ming emperors, its palace-style architecture blends Han structural craft and Tibetan religious aesthetics. Lavish ancient murals winding along cloister walls stand as its most precious legacy, retaining bright mineral colours after six centuries of plateau weather.