The Tawang monastery’s 400 years: a border town’s spiritual and strategic weight
Asia's second-largest monastery marks four centuries — and its courtyard is a stage for a border district's identity.
The Tawang monastery, Asia’s second-largest, marked 400 years with a week of prayer, masked dances and a gathering of lamas from across the Himalayan Buddhist world.
The monastery has been both spiritual heart and strategic symbol of a district that shares a border with China — a duality the town’s residents navigate daily.
Young monks are now learning Mandarin alongside scripture, a quiet sign of the times.