Yarchen Monastery (tib ཡ་ཆེན་སྒར་ wylie ya chen sgar) lies 400 km west of Chengdu in Sichuan province in China, in the old Tibetan province of Kham. It is reported to have 10 000 monks and nuns, making it possibly the largest monastery in the world. Larung Gar is even larger, but is considered a monastic encampment rather than a monastery. Most of the inhabitants are nuns. It was established in 1985.
Many monks and nuns came to Yarchen Gar when Larung Gar was partly demolished in 2001
The abbot, Achuk Rinpoche is one of the seniormost Nyingma masters in Tibet and he practices mainly Dzogchen. He teaches in both Tibetan and Chinese language and attracts students from all over China.
Due to Chinese restrictions on religious practice most of the monks and nuns are not officially recognized and live in fear of being thrown out. Monks are not allowed to enter the nuns' quarters on the West side of the river.
Due to the remoteness of the institute and the bad condition of roads leading there, Yarchen Gar sees very few tourists. In the past years officials have often prevented foreigners from entering the institute or staying there overnight. Tourist guides will not take foreigners to the nuns' side of the river even though there are no legal or real cultural reasons against that. There is a simple hotel and restaurant next to the gate.
Read more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarchen_Gar
