An ideal destination for backpackers as it has not been listed on the itinerary of any Chinese travel agency: a quiet, picturesque Tibetan village at an elevation of 3300 m, beautiful landscape, well preserved Tibetan cultures, unknown to most tourists. Daily life is regulated by Tibetan religious rituals. Curious travelers are even allowed to witness a sky-burial ceremony.

Langmusi has two monasteries located on the border of western provinces of Gansu and Sichuan. Sezhi Monastery 甘肃的色止寺 is in Sichuan Province and Geerdeng Monastery 四川的格尔登寺 in Gansu Province. Locals simply call them Sichuan Monastery and Gansu Monastery . Majestic temples with red wall and golden roof built on the slopes overlook hundreds of monks' houses painted in white with plank roof in the lower valley. Tibetan farms are dispersed outside the village. Prayers go around the monastery every day, from prayer wheels to sacred pagodas, kissing significant walls. Life goes on at a slow pace as hundreds of years ago.

Langmusi is on the itinerary of the backpackers who head from southwest China (Sichuan Province) to north china (Gansu Province) in order to access the legendary silk road.

Zoige(Sichuan) --> Langmusi --> Hezuo(Gansu)
> Buses from Zoige to Hezuo pass by the intersection beside a bridge (locals call it Qiaotou) between 10:00am to 11:00am. Then three-wheel trucks will give you a lift into Langmusi for Y2 or Y3.
> Langmusi has direct bus leaving for Hezhuo every day.
In Zoige, there are two bus stations. We bought the tickets for Langmusi with a seat number at one station. While getting on the bus, we found that our seats were occupied by locals who claimed having bought the same seats from another bus station. Each bus station sells its own tickets. Normally there are not enough people, so they would just dispatch one bus from one station and pick up the travelers from another station. Nobody knows in advance which station the bus would leave first. It's better to arrive at the bus station half an hour in advance.

Hezuo --> Langmusi --> Zoige
The Zoige Bus from Hezuo arrives at the intersection near Langmusi between 12:00 am and 1:00 pm. When we went back to Zoige, Our hotel advised recommended us to wait at the intersection at 11:00am. But the truck driver brought us to the town several km away from the interaction and said it would be much easier to find a bus to Zoige. Actually there were some mini-taxis from this town to Zoige, the driver would leave after he finds five to six passengers.

New: Hezuo has direct bus to Langmusi which leaves from the north bus station every morning. It takes around 4 hours.
Xiehe --> Hezuo: Frequent bus, Y20, 2 hours.

Simple lodges offer beds for Y15.- with English signs. We stayed at Langmusi Hotel (Bin1guan3) which has a shared hot shower room. Their toilets can be flushed. Four beds in a room. It was fully occupied that night. Difficult to judge how often they would change the sheets. But I have to admit that the room is relatively clean, no unexpected visitors (fleas or other insects) during the night.

New: Sana Hotel 萨娜宾馆: Tel 0941-6671062. Recommended by a traveler who visited Langmusi in July 2004. Located after Lesha's Cafe on the main road to the temples, Sana Hotel has rooms for Y15 -20 per bed. Bed sheets and shared bathroom are clean. Some rooms even offer nice views of the temple.

Lesha's Coffee is located on the way to the monasteries along the river. It seemed all the backpackers dined there as I had never seen any Westerner at other restaurants. Maybe because it is the only restaurant offering apple pies, yak bergers and chips in the town. It is said that Lesha met an American backpacker who got entirely soaked after exploring the Namo Gorge in the rain. Lesha dried his clothes and offered him hot meals. In return, this American made an apple pie for Lesha.

Chris (March 2004):
“ I was there 3 years ago and I really like the place, except I spent too little time there.
- If your timing is right, you can take the bus from Langmusi town to Hezuo instead of waiting at Qiaotou for passing buses. The bus leaves from outside Langmusi Binguan (I think that's the name of the hotel I stayed. It's at the junction very near to Lesha's). The bus departs early in the morning, like 7.30 am or something. I recalled the bus only runs on certain days in the week. The people at the hotel can provide the info.
- Try Lesha's chocolate 'pie'. A whole bar of chocolate between 2 slabs of pastries. Really delicious.”

For tips from other backpackers, visit: Passplanet.com

All New Information mentioned above was extracted from a report in Chinese: 甘南川西2004夏天攻略更新版

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Traveled to Langmusi in September 2001. © copyright: chinabackpacker.com 2003.