Shengyou Lamasery stands in Zhaosu county in the upper Ili valley, in the west of Xinjiang, and it is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the region. It was built by the Mongol communities of the Ili valley in the late nineteenth century, at a time when Mongol nobles and their followers had been settled in the valley by the Qing state, and it served as their principal religious centre. The surrounding country is high pasture, and the monastery's community was drawn from the herding population rather than from a town.
The buildings
The complex is laid out on a central axis with a gate, courtyards, a main assembly hall and subsidiary halls and living quarters, built in a Chinese-Tibetan hybrid style with timber frames, tiled roofs and painted decoration inside. The assembly hall holds images of the Buddha and of the Tibetan Buddhist lineage, with thangka, drums, long horns and the seating for the monks. The buildings were damaged in the twentieth century and restored, and the monastery is again active, with a resident community and a calendar of services, which makes it a living institution rather than a monument.
The Mongol Ili
The Mongols of the Ili valley are one of the less visible communities in Xinjiang, and their presence here is a reminder of how layered the region's population is: Kazakh herders, Uyghur farmers and traders, Han officials and migrants, Xibe garrison descendants near Yining, and Mongol pastoralists in the upper valleys. Zhaosu, where the monastery stands, is also known for its horses - the valley has been a horse-breeding area for centuries, and the local herds are prized across the region - and for its high grasslands, which run up towards the Kazakh border.
Practical notes
Zhaosu is reached from Yining by road, a drive of three to four hours through the valley and over a pass, and the monastery is a short distance from the county town; the practical arrangement is a car and driver, ideally combined with the grasslands at Kalajun or Nalati. The site charges a small admission and keeps day-time hours. Dress modestly and ask before photographing inside the halls or the resident monks. Summer is the only comfortable season for a visit, and the monastery's festival days, which follow the Tibetan calendar, draw Mongol families from across the valley.
