Located in Ngari Prefecture in the western part of Tibet Autonomous Region, the Khorchak Monastery, close to Nepal and India, is one of the major monasteries of the Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Lotsawa Rinchen Sangpo, the senior monk, led the construction of the monastery in 996. The monastery is magnificent withvarious halls of all different sizes for scriptures and marvelous frescos.

In 2001, the Khorchak Monastery was appraised as a state-level key protection unit cultural relic. Approximately 15 million yuan (2.3 million US dollars) was invested to restore the two big halls of the monastery, and protection measures will soon be carried out to repair the frescos.

The monastery is not as famous as the Jokhang Temple, however it is quite influential among the Buddhist followers in Ngari Prefecture and the nearby Nepal. 

Photo taken on May 10, 2011 shows the exterior of the Khorchak Monastery in Burang County of Ngari Prefecture, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]