Surrounded by seemingly desert area of cold earth, Tholing Monastery (托林寺, Tuo Lin Si in Chinese) was built by Yixiwo, a prince of the ancient Guge Kingdom, near the bank of Xiangquan River (象泉河), northwest Zhada County in Ngari Area around 996 AD, in imitation of Samye Monastery’s layout and design. A 300 meters distance to Chinese Armed Forces Guesthouse. It is the first Buddhist monastery in the Guge Kingdom (flourished between 10^th and 17^th centuries). It experienced the harshness of the Nature and human sabotages during its long history, but it is still firm and having much magnificent architecture and many invaluable Buddhist pagodas. Tholing, means flying freely in the air forever without falling down. The monastery had been the center of Tibetan Buddhism because the Guge emperors always promoted the religion in their soil.

The overall layout of Tholing Monastery is seen as if a long belt that includes temple halls, monk dormitories and pagoda gardens. The whole architecture is a mixture of Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan styles. 

Today, there are 83 Buddhist pagodas and 2 pagoda walls, of which most of them are located on the ground in northwest of Tholing Monastery. Many small clay figures of Buddha, Tara and king on display inside some of the Buddhist pagodas, they were made in 13^th century.

There are three treasures in Tholing Monastery, an elk’s horn, an ivory-made Five-wisdom Crown and a piece of black stone with a sage’s footprint on it. The elk’s horn is said that it was from India or from the place where Buddha Sakyamuni preached. Khenpo, a kind of master monks in Tibetan Buddhism, used the ivory Five-wisdom Crown, when he was engaging in any religious activity. The Sage’s Footprint is said the footstep pressed by a Buddhist sage from ancient India. 

Tibetan Buddhist ritual will hold between 3^rd and 21^st Days of the First Month of Tibetan Calendar. From 17^th to 19^th Days the magnificent and divine dances and the horseracing on 20^th Day of the month are climax of the religious ritual.