Jiazha Temple of Ali

　　Jiazha Temple is one of the larger monasteries in the Gangdise Mountain area. It is situated on a ridge along the inner kora route of Mount Kailash, the sacred mountain. It is a stronghold of the Drigung Kagyu sect and is said to have been built by the ascetic Gu Yagangba. The temple has a history of over 800 years. Also known as “Ali’s Majestic One,” it houses a statue of Jigten Sumgon, the founder of the Drigung Kagyu school. It is said that a tooth of the master is enshrined within the statue. The temple also possesses over a hundred volumes of palm-leaf scriptures brought from India, among which the most precious is the “Eight Thousand Verse Perfection of Wisdom Sutra,” brought by the great translator Vairotsana during the reign of King Trisong Detsen. Later, most of the cultural relics were destroyed. Behind the temple lies the site of the 17 golden stupas of the Drigung Kagyu lineage masters. The temple was rebuilt in 1986.