Langmusi town is located on the border between Gansu and Sichuan not far from the border of Qinghai. It is populated mainly by Tibetans who still practice their traditional habits and customs and are in harmony with the other ethnic groups present.

In Tibetan, the place is called Taktsang Lhamo, which means the fairy in the tiger cave. The town of Langmusi buried in the heart of magnificent landscapes on the side of cliffs, a beautiful valley filled with yaks and horses, snow-capped mountains, and lush forests is a place out of time. While there are no tigers to be found there today, one can walk the deep rocky Namo Gorge just outside of town, past the bubbling spring that is the source of the White Dragon River, and can easily see how this Bavarian-Esque landscape could have once been the remote mountain sanctuary for such wild beasts.

To add even more charm and mystery, the monastery and the local mosque coexist a few steps from each other. The two major monasteries in Langmusi are the Kirti Monastery, located on the southern Sichuan side, and the Serti Monastery, located on the northern Gansu side of town, and are essential places to visit.

Serti is certainly the more lavish of the two monasteries as it receives some of its funding from the Chinese government, and the monastery in turn supports China’s appointed Buddhist spiritual leaders. Serti, the cleaner and more prestigious of the town’s two monasteries, shines under the high-altitude sun with brilliant golden roofs and is often undergoing major renovations and expansion upgrades.

Kirti Monastery, oppositely, receives no funding from the government. Consequently, so it maintains an older, more organic feel as its temples are made of wood, mud, aluminum, and cement. The roofs lack the loud colors and glam that adorn the Serti Monastery. Most of the Kirti side is comprised of the slightly tattered but humble living quarters of all the monks who reside there. But, while being a bit more toned down than neighboring Serti Monastery, most of the Tibetan pilgrims that walk and prostrate for months when traveling to Langmusi all go to Kirti, not Serti. Most of the major gatherings of lamas and monks happen at Kirti despite its more rustic character.

Regardless of personality, both monasteries are certainly worth a visit and it is a fantastic experience to walk alongside the pilgrims who have come from hundreds of miles all around the grasslands to land and worship in Langmusi.

However, the town of Langmusi being located in the mountains of Tibetan Amdo, it will then sometimes be necessary to pass passes of almost 4,000 meters in altitude to get there. Altitude sickness and the feeling of lack of air can then strike any traveler, regardless of age or health condition.