In this tour with Mongolian tour guide Zol, we’ll visit the Gandan monastery complex, where monks still study and work today. You’ll learn how Tibetan Buddhism spread into Mongolia, survived during Communist time, and revived. We’ll see Chinese, Tibetan, and Mongolian style Buddhist temples, the library, the university, and Buddhist schools. You’ll also see the world’s tallest indoor statue of compassion deity. It’s a stunning 87 feet tall gold-leaf and gemstone-covered Avalokiteśvara consecrated by the Dalai Lama in 1996.

You’ll learn about the local people’s religious practices – feeding pigeons, turning wheels, and praying to the magic tree.

To watch the tour, press the Play Arrow in the middle of the video below. To view captions/subtitles, simply click on the CC logo on the bottom right hand of the video. To make the video fullscreen, select the [] icon on the bottom right hand of the video.