Tagong Pasture

    Name in Chinese: 塔公草原  Tǎ Gōng Cǎo Yuán  [ta: gɔ:n tsau yuæ]

    Duration of Tour: One Hour

    Location: Tagong Town, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

    Highlights: Photography, Hiking and Tibetan Buddhist Culture

    Must-see Sightseeing Spots: Tagong Pasture and Tagong Lamasery

    Tagong Town is located in Tagong Pasture. The pasture lies about 110 km(68.4 miles) away from Kangding. It covers an area of 712 square kilometers(275 sq.mi). It is one of the largest grasslands in western Sichuan highland. The sightseeing spots nearby include Muya Golden Pagoda, Tagong Lamasery and Muya Lamasery.

    Muya Golden Pagoda

    The pagoda was built by Dorje Tashi in 1997, the Living Buddha of Dzogchen Monastery. Dzogchen Monastery is one of the top six monasteries of Nyingma Lamaism. The walls are painted white. The pagoda is roofed with gold-gilded tiles. It is said that Dorje Tashi donated 80 kilograms of gold for the construction. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and vast grassland, the pagoda shines under the blue sky. White clouds float over the pastures, where herds of yaks are grazing. The view is breathtakingly beautiful.

    Yala Snow Mountain

Yala Snow Mountain is situated at the junction of three counties, namely Danba, Daofu and Kangding. It is considered as one of the nine holy mountains in Tibetan region. Yala is a Tibetan word which means white yak in English. The peak is 5,884 meters(19,304) above sea level.

    Tagong Lamasery

Tagong Lamasery could be dated back to the Tang Dynasty(618-907). It belongs to the Sakyapa Sect of Lamaism. In 614, the Tibetan chieftain, Songtsan Gampo married Princess Wencheng of the Tang Empire. The princess introduced Buddhism to Tibet. When she passed though Tagong Lamasery, she granted a statue of Sakyamuni to the lamasery as a gift. Tagong Lamasery is one of the top three sacred spiritual places in Kangba Tibetan region.

    Muya Lamasery

Muya Lamasery is also called Tashi Lamasery. It was built in 1982. The Lamasery is located in Gerima Village, 11 km(6.8 miles) away from Tagong Town. More than 1,000 lamas study and practice their Buddhism in the lamasery.

 

    Travel Tips

    How to Get to Tagong

    Tagong is located in the west of Kangding, around 110 km(68.4 miles) away from the city proper of Kangding. It takes about two and a half hours to get to Tagong Town from Kangding. Bamei Town is 27 km(17 miles) to the north of Tagong.

 

    How to Avoid Altitude Sickness

    The altitude of Tagong Town is about 3,700 meters(11,483 feet) above sea level. Visitor should try to avoid the AMS. Please read more about AMS.

 

    Weather

    The temperature in Tagong Town ranges from minus 3℃(26.6°F) to 8(46.4°F) in spring, 7℃(44.6°F) to 18℃(64.4°F) in summer, 13℃(55.4°F) to 22℃(71.6°F) in autumn and minus 4℃(24.8°F) to 6℃(42.8°F) in winter. The best time to visit Tagong is between September and October. Visitors should try to avoid going to Tagong in the rainy season. The rainy season in Sichuan lasts from July to August.

    Because the altitude is high, visitors should prepare warm coat and try to decrease the risk of catching a cold, even in the summer.

 

    Recommended Tours:

    Twelve-day West Sichuan Pure Land and Tibetan Culture Exploring Tour

    Fifteen-day Sichuan Photography Tour

 

    Related Articles:

    Daocheng Yading

    Siguniang Mountain

    Hailuogou Glacier

    Jiaju Village

    Huiyuan Lamasery

    Altitude Sickness

Author: Tina Luo

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