Yushu is a Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai Province. Covering an area of 267,000 square kilometers, Yushu has a population of about 252.700, 97% of which are Tibetans.
Yushu has very rich tourism sources. Among all, the most popular is the Tibetan Buddhism. You may learn more about Tibetan Buddhism culture in the temples and tourist sights.
At present, the only way entering Yushu is by long-distance bus. Every day, there are five buses shuttling between Xining and Yushu, two in the morning and three in the afternoon. The whole distance takes about 16 hours. An airport is under construction in Jiegu Town of Yushu, which is supposed to operate in 2010.
Monasticism Yushu prefecture is rich in Buddhist monasteries. Being a constituent of the former Nangchen kingdom, the area was, for most of the time, not under domination by the Dalai Lama’s Gelugpa order in Lhasa. The different balance of power in this part of Kham enabled the older Tibetan Buddhist orders to prevail in Yushu. Of the 195 pre-1958 lamaseries only 23 belonged to the Gelugpa.
An overwhelming majority of more than 100 monasteries followed and still follow the teachings of the various Kagyüpa schools, with some of their sub-sects only found in this part of Tibet. The Sakyapa were and are also strong in Yushu, with many of their 32 monasteries being among the most significant in Kham. The Nyingmapa’s monastic institutions amount to about the same number, while the Bönpo are only met with in one lamasery they share with the Nyingmapa.
Prior to collectivization in 1958, the entire monastic population of present-day Yushu TAP amounted to more than 25,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, with approximately 300 incarnate lamas among them. On the average about three to five per cent of the population were monastic, with a strikingly higher share in Nangqên county, where monks and nuns made up between 12 and 20 % of the community.
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