Not Seda! Not Ganzi! Praised by National Geographic! This niche Sichuan-West secret realm~.
Rangtang, the land of wealth in Tibetan culture
A land almost untouched by tourism
Quiet but not simple, rich but not ostentatious
Everything Sichuan-West has, it has
Snow mountains, grasslands, glaciers, forests, temples
💡 First stop: Bangtuo Temple 💗 Stone-carved Tripitaka
📝 Located in Rongmu Da Township, it is a Nyingma (Red Sect) temple of Tibetan Buddhism, with a construction area of 1538 square meters. It was first built in the Yuan Dynasty and currently has 120 monks and nuns. It is famous for its large-scale stone-carved Tibetan Tripitaka and majestic pagoda complex. When we visited, it happened to be the annual Dengzong (Tibetan homonym) festival celebration. Chanting and lecturing activities can also be seen in the main hall. There are few tourists, and the monks and nuns don't speak Mandarin very well, but they will still guide you on the kora route with enthusiasm. Each building basically has an explanation board, where you can learn about the history and culture. The overall tour experience is much better than the three major temples in Zhongrangtang Town.
💡 Second stop: Zhongrangtang Town 💗 Temples & Intangible Cultural Heritage
📝 Visit the three Sakya temples (Zebuji Temple, Queshaji Temple, Zangwaba Temple) and the Rangbala Sakya Intangible Cultural Heritage Training Institute. The three temples are adjacent to each other, but note that the opening hours are 9:00-17:00. We arrived in the evening, so we only saw the exterior and did not enter the temples. The training institute is actually an industrial park, with a base for learning and working on intangible cultural heritage such as Thangka, Tibetan medicine, Tibetan carpets, and Tibetan clothing. It is about 2.5KM from the three temples. When we first arrived at the park, we wandered around for a long time not knowing where to start (because most of the lofts were closed and there were few people on the street). Later, we were lucky to meet a talkative Tibetan carpet maker who took us to visit some workshops. It was an eye-opening experience and we learned a lot. Therefore, the training institute is not actually a tourist destination. If you are very interested in intangible cultural heritage, you can go and try your luck, or it is best to find a staff member in the park to guide you.
🍜 When we arrived in town, it was lunchtime, so we chose a restaurant called "Marlon" opposite the parking lot for lunch. It mainly serves Tibetan food. The environment, service, and taste of the dishes are all excellent. Recommended 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
💡 Third stop: Rangtang County 💗 Food & Accommodation
📝 Rangtang County is about 40KM from Zhongrangtang Town, with more dining and accommodation options. It is also closer to Seda, so you can choose to stay overnight in Rangtang County.
🍜 Recommended 👍🏻 Luzhou Braised Beancurd Rice, 35 yuan/person, unlimited beancurd, soy milk and vegetarian dishes. The taste is good and affordable. The proprietress is from Dujiangyan and is very hospitable.
🏨 We visited several hotels and finally chose "Rangtang No. 1 Hotel". The decoration is new and the rooms are large, for reference.