Qinghai Tongren, the center of thangka painting

Tongren sits on the edge of the Tibetan plateau ,181 kilometers from the city of Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, Tongren Prefecture has a population of 80,000 and covers an area of 3,275 square meters.

This region was historically known to its nomadic inhabitants as Amdo. The towns origins stretch back several hundred years when it emerged around the establishment of the Longwu Monastery.

In the 15-16 century, the Tibetan Buddhism of Gelukpa Sect (Yellow Sect) came into  Tongren. Painting, sculptures and stone inscription for Buddhism are sprang up by Tibetan and near the Guchu River at Tongren along with the rise of Buddhism and the construction of monasteries.Upon arrival you will visit Longwu Monastery of Gelukpa sect which was initially constructed in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) as a monastery of Sakya-sect, and Wutun village the center of Repkong Buddhist Art which is a successful mixture of religious art and local folk art. 

Tongren Old Town is the one of the oldest and best-preserved ancient towns in Qinghai Province. Over six ethnic groups, including Han , Hui, Tibet, Sala, Dongxiang and Bao live in the old town. Buildings in the old town are simple in style and they were constructed according to the rise and fall of the terrain, which forms a tiered building complex. Three temples: Longwu Temple, Yuantong Temple, and the Mosque, which represent Tibetan Buddhism, Han Buddhism and Muslim, are located on the same street. Their harmonious coexistence goes a long way towards proving the blending and unification of different ethnic groups and cultures can be successful, which constitutes a very rare geo-cultural phenomenon.

For the Chinese, the region was considered a wasteland that marked the outer fringes of the Han and Tang dynasties. By the Ming dynasty garrison troops, positioned to defend against those they considered barbarians in the west, had established an administrative system that blended Buddhism with the Chinese dynastic rule.

Tongren is the birth place of the Regong art. Each year, in the sixth month according to the Tibetan calendar, the Tibetan, Tu and Mongolian ethnic groups from the surrounding villages will gather in Tongren for the June Singing and Dancing Festival, which is referred to as "Zhou lei Bei Rou" by the local dialect.  In the event, a lot of cultural activities are presented.

Famous for thangkas and painted statues, the Regong Art has attracted visitors from all over the world.
The monasteries are noted producers of Tibetan art. The beautiful thangkas — Buddhist paintings — produced here are among the most famous in the world.  It is the art of painting, sewing, firing a religious image on a support in general of fabric. This work must then be consecrated by a lama.

The city itself is a large village, mainly Tibetan, where the vast Longwusi monastery dating from the Yuan (13th and 14th century) is located.In the surroundings you can also visit the Wutunsi Monastery which features several halls dedicated to the deities and a superb stupas decorated with multiple colorful statues.

● Monlam Prayer Festival in Tongren

The Monlam Prayer Festival holds in many Tibetan monasteries across Tibetan Plateau, but the Rebkong or Tongren county in Qinghai Province and Labrang or Xiahe in Gansu Proince in the Amdo region of Tibet are the two most most famous Molam Festival among all.

The Monlam prayer festival is actually almost a two week event. The festival starts on the fourth day of the Tibetan calendar and ends of the fifteenth day that is the day called the Butter Lamp Festival (Choe-nga Choepa) that is the greatest and last day of the Monlam Festival. So one long festival season that lasts for fifteen days starts on the 1st day of the Tibetan year that is the Tibetan New Year Festival called Losar and ends on the 15th day on the night of the full moon called the Butter Lamp Festival. During the Monlam Festival, Buddhists pray and commemorate the miracles Buddha did about 2,500 years ago in India.

Monlam means “wish-path” – the Buddhist path of helping others through the prayers. The Monlam Chenmo commemorates the Buddha’s enlightenment or fully awakening from ignorance. All the prayers are being sent to sentient beings in six realms (human realm, animal realm, hungry ghosts realms, hell real, demi-god realm, and god realm).

Monlam Chenmo was established in 1409 by lama Tsongkhapa, the great philosopher and founder of Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The first festival was held in Jokhang in Lhasa, where thousands of monks gathered together for chanting prayers and performing religious rituals, such as Buddhist dances (cham), torma offering, giant thangka unveiling, etc.