Naidan Monastery in Riwoqe County, Chamdo
Chinese Name:乃旦寺
English Name: Naidan Monastery in Riwoqe County, Chamdo
Location: Located in Riwoqe County, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region
Admission Fee: CNY 25
Opening Hours: All Day
About Naidan Monastery
Naidan Monastery（乃旦寺）is located on the mountain which is about 200 meters away from Wuru Village（乌入村）, Yuzha Township（雨扎乡）, Riwoqe County, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. The climate here is mild and the land fertile. The monastery is surrounded by green trees and Jiqu River（吉曲河）with a pleasant view. Duozong Mountain（多宗山）in the north looks just like sixteen arhats, hence gets the name of Naidan Monastery which means arhat hall in Tibet language. Founded in 1820 AD, the monastery is more than a hundred years old now. Naidan monastery has a unique artistic style, which provides valuable historical information for the research of the development of the latter Nyingma sect（宁玛派）.
The Massive Structure of Naidan Monastery
Naidan Monastery（乃旦寺）consists of the Buddha hall, the guarding hall and Weibao assembly hall. It is a two-story Tibetan flat-topped building. The ground floor is the Buddhist hall, which is about 45.3 square meters. There are four pillars, the door faces south. Outside the door is a Ming gallery, and the rear wall of the Ming corridor is sometimes painted by the kalacakra（时轮金刚） and the four heavenly kings mural. In the west of the Buddhist hall, there are niches in the west of the temple, each of which is of different sizes. It has been used for the Buddha statue and the clay statue of the Nyingma family. In the north of the hall is a two-story building, with a kitchen, a warehouse, and a Buddhist monk. There are 14 rooms, including one for the classic room, with a set of Kangyur （《甘珠尔》）and Tengyur（《丹珠尔》）.
Attraction Transportation
China National Highway 214
China National Highway 317
How to Get to Qamdo Riwoqe County
Air
Located in the Bangda Grassland, the Chamdo Bangda Airport is the world’s highest airport and has the longest runway. It is 136 kilometers (84.5 miles) from Chamdo County. As the first lateral airport in Tibet, Chamdo Bangda Airport started to be built in 1993 and finished in October, 1994. At present, it has air routes to/from domestic cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lhasa, Tianjin, Xian, and Xining; meanwhile, flights to/from Nepal are also operated at this airport.
Passengers can take airport shuttle bus to Riwoqe County from the airport.
The airport inquiry number is +86 0895-4821004.
Bus
The Prefecture is over 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) from Chengdu and over 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) from Lhasa. Every week at least three buses travel between Qamdo and the two cities. Apart from regular buses, the tourist bureau sometimes sends special buses to Lhasa for visitors. It usually takes 10 days from Lhasa to visit Riwoqe.
Attraction Travel Tips
- Traveling Hours: 2 to 3 hours
- Traveling Seasons: May, June and October.
- High Altitude Sickness Avoiding: Better take some medicines for relief and keep warm all the time.
- As there is a large temperature gap between daytime and night, it is highly recommended to take along some pieces of thermal clothing, hat, and gloves and so on.
- Please try your best to respect the religious belief and local customs.
