Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, officially the world's largest Buddhist settlement and is home to 40,000 monks and nuns. Picture Courtesy: Flickr/buddhamountain
The houses are all built in a wood style that is traditionally found in this region, and built so close together that they appear almost on top of each other Picture Courtesy: Flickr/buddhamountain
The incredible academy was established in 1980 in the uninhabited valley by Jigme Phuntsok, an influential lama of the Nyingma tradition in Tibet. Picture Courtesy: Flickr/randomix
Despite its remote situation, Larung Gar evolved from a handful of disciples to be the largest Buddhist settlement in the world and has a mix of students from ethnic Chinese students to pupils from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Started in 1980s, the settlement has become the largest centre for Buddhist learning in China. Picture Courtesy: Flickr/buddhamountain
Nuns and monks are housed near to their colleges, and separated by age and sex. The different quarters are marked by a long winding road. Picture Courtesy: Flickr/wulingyun
The red and brown houses that span across the land are identical and one to three room in each hut but do not include a toilet. Picture Courtesy: Flickr/wulingyun
Inside the largest Buddhist settlement in the world