Huangzhong

Huangzhong (湟中; Huángzhōng; Tibetan: Tsongkha or Lushaer) is a town near Xining, Qinghai Province.

Understand
Huangzhong is about 28km southwest of Xining, and although small, it is very important to Tibetans. This is the birthplace of Tsongkhapa (Je Rinpoche), the founder of the Dalai Lama's Gelukpa (Yellow Hat) order, and it is the site of Ta'er Si Monastery, one of the six greatest Gelukpa monasteries. There are many Han and Hui in the town itself but the area around the monastery is full of tourists mingling among the throngs of Tibetan pilgrims who flock to the site from across the Amdo (Eastern Tibet) region.

Get in
Bus leaves from Xining Gymnasium (体育馆; Tǐyùguǎn) every half hour throughout the day til evening. The bus takes about one hour to travel to Huangzhong.

Eat
To the left and downhill from the entrance to Ta'ersi there is a small area of tourist shops and a scattering a traditional Tibetan restaurants.

Drink
Here, you can buy yark acidophilus milk, only ¥2 per bottle, the taste is very good.

Go next
The bus station is about 2-3km down the road from the monastery towards Xining. Bus 909 goes to Xining directly. During the day many taxis wait near the entrance to Ta'er Monastery and will leave to Xining only when full. In the evening, taxis wait down the street across from Huangzhong County Hospital. They should not charge much more than ¥50-60 for the trip, so expect to pay about ¥15 per person.