Two monasteries, one river — Tibetan Buddhism, sky burials and yak-grass highlands on the Gansu–Sichuan border
Langmusi (Taktsang Lhamo in Tibetan) is a small market town split between Gansu and Sichuan provinces, where two large Gelug Buddhist monasteries face each other across the white-water Bai River. The Sichuan-side Kirti Monastery and the Gansu-side Sertri Monastery are both major pilgrimage centres. Above town, the Namo Gorge is a traditional sky-burial site still in use, and the surrounding Tibetan grasslands are summer pasture for yak herds.
Langmusi has been an Amdo Tibetan Buddhist centre since the 18th century. The Kirti Monastery traces its roots to the Kirti Rinpoche lineage established in 1869, a branch of the Gelug school with strong ties to Labrang Monastery at Xiahe. The Cultural Revolution (1966–76) devastated both monasteries; reconstruction began after 1980 and they are now among the most active monasteries in the Amdo region outside Lhasa. The provincial border running through the village creates a subtle cultural seam — Gansu Tibetans and Sichuan Tibetans share the market but maintain separate monastic traditions.