Jiuzhi White Jade Temple

　　White Jade Temple is located in Baiyu Township, southwest of the county town. It sits against a rocky hill covered with shrubs and faces the clear and tranquil Eke River. At an altitude of 3,600 meters, the area enjoys abundant rainfall, a warm climate, open and flat terrain, and lush flowers and grasses. Thirty kilometers north of the temple lies the famous Nianbao Mountain Scenic Area. Along the way, you will pass Longge Monastery, the largest Gelug sect monastery in southeastern Guoluo, making this one of the best tourist destinations in the Jiuzhi region. White Jade Temple is a branch of the Baiyu Monastery in Sichuan Province, and it derives its name “Baiyu” from its mother monastery. Built in 1857, it has a history of over 140 years and is one of the grandest and most influential Nyingma sect monasteries in the border regions of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu. After reconstruction, the monastery now boasts thousands of structures including the main scripture hall, stupa hall, preaching courtyard, meditation rooms, and monks’ quarters, covering nearly a thousand acres. The preaching courtyard houses two sets of the Kangyur and Tengyur Tibetan Buddhist canon, printed in the United States and donated by overseas Tibetans residing in America—the print quality is exquisite. The stupa hall contains two stupas of eminent monks, adorned with gold and silver leaf. The larger of the two houses a sacred tooth relic, which is extremely precious and regarded as a treasure of the monastery. The temple enshrines nearly ten thousand Buddha statues and figures made of gold, silver, and other materials. The stupa hall also displays a stone footprint believed to be that of the previous incarnation of Baiyu Lazi, considered a rare and precious relic by the monastery. Additionally, a magnificent Fai Hall has been newly constructed. As a result, the temple was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site in 1994. The main Buddhist events held at the temple each year include the “Three Bodies of the Tathagata” meditation retreat from the eighth day of the first lunar month to the eighth day of the second lunar month, and the 45-day "Summer Retreat" held in the eighth lunar month. During these events, thousands of monks and devotees gather to worship the Buddha statues and offer hada scarves, creating a spectacular scene.