(8) Sichuan-Tibet North-South Self-Driving Tour: "A Place of Hypoxia but Not Lacking Faith" - Seda Buddhist Academy.

(8) Sichuan-Tibet North-South Self-Driving Tour: "A Place of Hypoxia but Not Lacking Faith" - Seda Buddhist Academy Sichuan Ganzi 2024.9.8 Seda weather: Sunny to cloudy, temperature 5-21 degrees, altitude 3886 meters. It feels cool in the morning, so wear autumn and winter clothes. Seda, a place of hypoxia but not lacking faith. Seda Buddhist Academy is not a scenic spot, but a place for monks and nuns to study and cultivate. It is not open to the public. There were various online strategies before, such as making an appointment for a visit. However, online appointments were cancelled from June 6 this year and changed to offline appointments. We saw the situation on the spot, and the above situation is true. The full name of Seda Buddhist Academy is "Seda Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy" (Figure 1), located in Larung Gar Valley, Luozhuo Town, Seda County, Ganzi Prefecture (Figure 2), about 20 kilometers from the county seat, with an average altitude of over 3800 meters, belonging to the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. There are two main types of people who visit the Buddhist Academy: religious believers who study and practice, and photography enthusiasts who travel and check in. Whether you are a believer or a traveler, in the hearts of many people, this is a holy place worth visiting (Figure 3), the rows of densely packed prayer houses (Figure 4), the red houses (Figure 5), the blue sky and white clouds (Figure 6), the simple Tibetan people and the devout monks (Figure 7), all of which make people feel pious and respectful. The "Mandala" (Figure 8) is the highest and most magnificent building in the Buddhist Academy. The Mandala has three floors. The first floor is a prayer corridor, where countless believers come to pray every day, praying for their next life (Figure 9). The second floor houses various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The third floor houses esoteric statues that are not usually seen, which are currently under repair. (There are many electric poles and wires in the Buddhist Academy, which cannot be avoided. Let's keep it original for now.) Currently, there is no entrance fee to visit the Buddhist Academy. There are two main ways to get there: one is to make an appointment at the Golden Horse Grassland Tourist Center in the county seat to go to the Buddhist Academy. There are two places where you can get on the bus, the county seat or Luozhuo Town. There are seven time slots every day, morning and afternoon. The fare is CNY48/person. The daily quota is limited. The appointment window is open from 8:00 to 20:00. The second is to make an appointment on the "Seda Pastoral Home" official account. The price is CNY168/person, including three points of the Buddhist Academy. Appointments start three days in advance. Appointments are more difficult during holidays, so it is recommended to avoid them as much as possible. Both of the above are official channels. There are also ways to get in through the back door, but I haven't tried them and don't recommend them. After arriving in Seda at 3:30 pm yesterday, we immediately went to the site to make an appointment, but it was sold out for the day, and there was only an afternoon slot for the next day. We made an appointment for 3 pm, which delayed us by half a day and required us to stay one more night. It is also necessary to slow down the pace when first arriving on the plateau. Tomorrow, we will travel to Dege via Ganzi.