Xiahe

Xiahe or Songqu (བསང་ཆུ་ Sangqu; 夏河 Xiàhé) is an ethnically Tibetan county and town (Labrang Town, the county-seat) in Gansu Province, China.

Understand
The town lies along one main street parallel to the Daxia River. The Chinese section (commercial) lies to the eastern end of the road and the Tibetan section lies at the western end. In between lies the monastery.

Xiahe has developed along with the influx of visitors. Some old timers may bemoan that it has lost its off-the-beaten-path charm, but Xiahe is still far from being overrun with hawkers, karaoke or foot massage joints as have many other attractions in China.

By bus
Xiahe Bus Station is about 1.5 km away from the entrance to the monastery and the main concentration of guesthouses. Turn right when you walk out bus stations front door.


 * From Lanzhou – Three morning buses and two afternoon buses (07:30, 08:30, 10:30, 14:00, 15:00) leave from Lanzhou Nanzhan (Lanzhou South Bus Terminal). Trip takes 3½ hours (¥75). Half-hourly buses go to Linxia in 2 hours. From there you can catch one of the frequent buses onward to Xiahe (¥20).
 * From Linxia – One every 30 min leaves during daylight hours, arriving in Xiahe about 2 hours later. (¥18)
 * From Langmusi – Two buses a day leaving at 06:00 and 14:00, takes 4½ hours (¥44).
 * Tongren – One bus per day leaving at 08:00 (¥25). Takes 3 very scenic hours.

By plane
Gannan Xiahe Airport (甘南夏河机场) is about 70 km from Xiahe and receives flights from Chengdu, Lhasa, Xi'an and Yinchuan. There is no airport bus from the airport into Xiahe town.

Get around
The town is compact and most guesthouses cluster near the monastery, about 10mins walk from the bus station.

Taxi
A wide spectrum of wheeled vehicles purporting to be Taxis run up and down the main street. The price should be ¥2-4 per person, depending on the luxuriance of your conveyance, no matter the distance. If you take up more than one seat with your bags then pay for however many seats you use.

See
For most travellers, Labrang Monastery will keep them occupied for couple of days or more. There is graceful landscape and colourful people. The surrounding region harbors a few worthwhile day-trip destinations.



Labrang Monastery
Literally the center of town, the monastery is the main focus for visitors and residents alike with all social and commercial activity deriving from it. The Monastery was established in 1709 and expanded greatly in following centuries to become one of the six great monasteries of the Gelukpa sect (Yellow Hat) of Tibetan Buddhism. The resident monks wear saffron robes, black UGG-style boots and shaggy yellow Mohawk shaped hats, sometimes pitched to impressive heights.

Despite its venerable history, many of the buildings and religious artefacts were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. What you see now was built since the 1980s. The buildings construction differs from others in the region, being built with stone blocks rather than rammed earth, but the whitewashed multiple-level square designs follow the typical style of Tibetan monastic buildings.

It'd be easy to spend days meandering about the alleys between monks quarters and prayer halls, or follow pilgrims spinning prayer wheels on a loop around the Kora. Despite the tickets and tours, it's still an active Monastery and you may chance upon the monks engaged in their religious activities.

There are few English signs (except for the ubiquitous No Photo, Ticket needed), making it somewhat beguiling to understand what you are looking at. An English tour leaves from the ticket office at 10:15 and 15:15. Though the guide provides decent explanations as they take you though the halls, some may feel the experience is a bit rushed. As you would expect, no photos are allowed inside buildings and the monks outside are camera shy when conducting a ceremony.

You need to buy a ticket to enter the monastery (¥40) and some of the smaller chapels require additional charge (¥10) whether you join the tour or not. Even with a ticket in hand the halls may be closed or off limits while a ceremony is being conducted. If you prefer to try before you buy, it's not difficult to blunder in for a look without anyone asking for a ticket.

Some places worth seeking out include;



Day trips outside town
A few other worthwhile sights lay within a 20-km radius. Your only transport options are to hire a taxi from Xiahe for about ¥400 per vehicle, per day (5–8 hours round trip) or bicycle. Adventurous travellers can take the early morning bus to Tongren/Repcon (同仁) and get off at Ganjia Town (Ganjia Xiang – 甘加乡). From there it would be at least a 10- to 12-km round-trip hike to Bajiao Cheng. You would need to get back to Ganjia town by lunch time to get the bus coming from Xining or Tongren, or catch a motorcycle, taxi, or tractor back to Xiahe.


 * Sangke grasslands; wonderful grasslands with many nomad tents and herds of yaks and sheep. 12 km outside Xiahe is Sangke town, where most people who rent a bike go to. There is nothing to see in the town, you really need to go into the grasslands to enjoy the wonderful views.
 * Nomad Travel. Book a tour in Xiahe with this excellent tour company. They offer a wide variety of tours in and around Xiahe. Their guides are well informed. Company's service is excellent. Highly recommended. Their office is in the Nirvana Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, parallel to Xiahe's main street. They have an informative website, google "Nomad Travel Xiahe".
 * Nomad Travel. Book a tour in Xiahe with this excellent tour company. They offer a wide variety of tours in and around Xiahe. Their guides are well informed. Company's service is excellent. Highly recommended. Their office is in the Nirvana Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, parallel to Xiahe's main street. They have an informative website, google "Nomad Travel Xiahe".
 * Nomad Travel. Book a tour in Xiahe with this excellent tour company. They offer a wide variety of tours in and around Xiahe. Their guides are well informed. Company's service is excellent. Highly recommended. Their office is in the Nirvana Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, parallel to Xiahe's main street. They have an informative website, google "Nomad Travel Xiahe".
 * Nomad Travel. Book a tour in Xiahe with this excellent tour company. They offer a wide variety of tours in and around Xiahe. Their guides are well informed. Company's service is excellent. Highly recommended. Their office is in the Nirvana Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, parallel to Xiahe's main street. They have an informative website, google "Nomad Travel Xiahe".
 * Nomad Travel. Book a tour in Xiahe with this excellent tour company. They offer a wide variety of tours in and around Xiahe. Their guides are well informed. Company's service is excellent. Highly recommended. Their office is in the Nirvana Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, parallel to Xiahe's main street. They have an informative website, google "Nomad Travel Xiahe".

Buy
There are dozens of shops along Renmin XiLu selling locally made crafts including colourful textiles, silver jewellery, Tibetan hats and fake antiques. Bargaining is a must.

One product you should not buy are the many furs for sale. Some clothing with fur trim might may be fake but the hides of entire animals are the real thing. Many of the skins are poached and may be of endangered species. Asia's wildlife is quickly disappearing as China's appetite for illegal animal products increases. Please don't contribute to this crisis.

Eat


Most of the eating options are clustered within a 100-m radius of where Renmin XiJie enters the Monastery. Most of their menus are indistinguishable from the one next door, serving tolerable Chinese dishes and the ubiquitous Tibetan Momo. A wider search will win adventurous taste buds more authentic local dishes such as Tsampa (barley flour and Yak butter ball) or JueNia Fan (rice with a deliciously sweet local root). More circumspect travellers can stick to Western food the well-trodden backpacker places.



Drink
Many of the backpacker oriented restaurants have fresh coffee and hot chocolate.

Good drinks at the Nirvana bar. Coffee, tea, shakes, freshly squeezed juices, cold beer and many different kinds of alcohols and cocktails. It is located at Ya Ge Tang 247. Next to the river inside the Nirvana hotel. Nice music to complement the drink.

Budget

 * Calling Marmot Youth Hostel. This hostel is featured on Booking.com site but be ware this hostel does not have a permit to host foreigners. Can cause problems if the authorities come to check who stays.
 * Calling Marmot Youth Hostel. This hostel is featured on Booking.com site but be ware this hostel does not have a permit to host foreigners. Can cause problems if the authorities come to check who stays.
 * Calling Marmot Youth Hostel. This hostel is featured on Booking.com site but be ware this hostel does not have a permit to host foreigners. Can cause problems if the authorities come to check who stays.
 * Calling Marmot Youth Hostel. This hostel is featured on Booking.com site but be ware this hostel does not have a permit to host foreigners. Can cause problems if the authorities come to check who stays.
 * Calling Marmot Youth Hostel. This hostel is featured on Booking.com site but be ware this hostel does not have a permit to host foreigners. Can cause problems if the authorities come to check who stays.

Cope
Usually electricity, running water, and transportation are available without problems or limitations, however, sometimes there are electricity or water cuts

Go next

 * Lanzhou – The capital of Gansu. Afternoon bus departures from Xiahe at 12:10 and 14:55 (as of summer 2024).
 * Tongren – A larger town with a smaller Monastery famous for its Thangka artists.
 * Langmusi – A small Tibetan town on the Gansu/Sichuan border with a pair of Monasteries amid grasslands and mountains.
 * Linxia – A Muslim "Mecca" in China with an enchanting mix of Tibetan and Hui Muslim influences.