Leba Gully

　　   A provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit. Located in Batang Township, Jiegu Town, the seat of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, accessible via National Highway 214, 20 kilometers from Jiegu Town. It is a historical and cultural humanistic scenic tourism area.

　　   "Leba" means "beautiful gully" in Tibetan. The natural scenery within the gully resembles a three-dimensional scroll painting: snow-capped peaks at the mountaintops, ancient pines and cypresses halfway up the mountains, peculiar rocks and misty veils, and murmuring streams and lush grass at the valley bottom. From top to bottom, the layers are distinct and pleasing to the eye. Leba Gully is also a world of mani stones. At the entrance of the gully, there are Tang Dynasty stone carvings depicting Buddhist worship scenes, and the mountainsides within the gully are covered with mani stones engraved with Buddha images and scriptures. It is known as the "Buddha Image Gully" or "Buddhist Scripture Gully." Mani stones inscribed with the Six Syllable Mantra of Avalokiteshvara and other sacred texts can be found everywhere in Leba Gully—some in plain sight under the open sky, some submerged in streams, some hidden among grass and woods, and others perched high on cliffs, forming a vast petroglyph landscape. The number of mani stones in the gully is countless, with Tibetan and Sanskrit "Six Syllable Mantras," condensing the essence of Buddhist teachings, carved on rocks of all sizes. Each character is painted in different colors, creating a dazzling and mystical spectacle. Pagodas built from stacked mani stones stand majestically, with colorful prayer flags inscribed with scriptures hanging from ropes extending in all directions from their bodies, fluttering in the breeze. There are dozens of cliff carvings in Leba Gully, meticulously crafted into the steep cliffs with smooth and exquisite lines. The carvings mainly feature individual images such as Buddhas, bodhisattvas, pilgrims, attendants, and auspicious beasts, all uniquely shaped and lifelike, exuding a strong religious and cultural aura. They exhibit the artistic style of Han Chinese Buddhist sculptures from the Tang Dynasty and represent a splendid fusion of Tibetan and Han stone carving art. From the late Tang Dynasty Buddha statue at the mouth of the gully to the mani stones crafted today, you can witness the entire history of Tibetan religious stone carvings.