Sera Monastery is a famous Tibetan Buddhist temple in Lhasa

Sera Monastery, located at the foot of Sera Uze Mountain in the northern suburbs of Lhasa, is one of the three major monasteries in Lhasa and the second largest monastery in Tibet. The architectural style of the monastery is unique, and the golden and magnificent main hall and the grand scale are breathtaking. The monastery houses many precious Buddha statues, as well as a large number of scriptures, exquisite thangkas, embroidery, murals and other art treasures, which are excellent choices for worship or viewing. The debate activities of Sera Monastery are well-known in Tibet and are an important part of visiting Sera Monastery. The debate activities are held in the debate field in the north of the monastery, starting at three o'clock in the afternoon and lasting until five o'clock. It should be noted that there are no debate activities on Sundays and special holidays. During the debate, the monks are exaggerated in their actions and debate the scriptures, which is very interesting. You can walk to see the buildings and Buddha halls of Sera Monastery. The perimeter of the entire monastery is about 1.5 kilometers. The layout of Sera Monastery is centered on the Cochin Hall, surrounded by many buildings of the major Zha Cang. Unlike the architecture of Han Buddhism in the mainland, the architectural layout of Sera Monastery is not centrally symmetrical, but scattered in the mountains. The more famous halls include the Horse Head Ming King Hall and the Cochin Hall, which can be visited in focus. The Horse Head Ming King Hall enshrines the famous Horse Head Ming King statue of Sera Monastery. The Horse Head Ming King is a Dharma protector of Tibetan Buddhism's Vajrayana, with powerful magic power to exorcise evil and solve difficulties. It is said that this statue of the Horse Head Ming King was dug out by Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, when he heard the neighing of a horse while walking, so it has a strong exorcism power in the legend of Tibetan Buddhism. This is also a key point for believers to worship at Sera Monastery. You can join the believers' team to worship and pray for blessings and exorcism. The central Cochin Hall is a larger building of Sera Monastery, supported by 108 large pillars. During religious ceremonies, it can accommodate more than 8,000 monks. The statue of the founder of the monastery, Shakyamuni, is enshrined in the hall. The hat on the head of the statue is very unique, with Sanskrit written on it. This hat was personally bestowed by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty when he was preaching in the mainland. You can go and discover it yourself. The back mountain of Sera Monastery is relatively high, and you can see the panoramic view of Lhasa city from the top of the mountain, which is a good place for mountain climbers. The relative height of the mountain is about 500 meters, and it takes about 4 hours to climb, requiring a certain amount of physical strength. Looking back at the city of Lhasa along the mountain road, the view is very wide. However, it is not recommended for tourists who are prone to altitude sickness when they first arrive in Lhasa to go to the top of the mountain.