Ta´er Si

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The Buddhist monastery was built in the 16th century and was one of very few monasteries still in operation in China after the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Buddhism was heavily affected during the Cultural Revolution. In 1959, there were still around 1,600 monasteries in operation in Tibet and Quinghai. By 1979, at the end of the Cultural Revolution, there were only 10, and the monks had been sent to labour camps or political prisons.

When I visited Taersi in 1988, I found a peaceful and secluded place. I was welcomed as a guest in an open and very friendly manner. I
I was able to move around the monastery completely freely and unobserved. The monks were very familiar and interested. Even at 5 o'clock in the morning, still at night, I was able to join them in the temple for the ceremony. The monks in their heavy robes seemed to float silently up the cobbled paths through the darkness.