The Sakya Monastery in Tibet with its Mongolian architectural style is quite different from other monasteries. Located in the Sakya County, Sakya Monastery covers a space of 45 000 m² and is surrounded by a moat, an outer wall and an inner wall. With fortifications and battlements atop, it has only one entrance on the east.
The monastery stands in two parts on either side of the Dongchu River.
The State Council of People's Republic of China has classified it as a national level protected monument. The northern part of the monastery was built in the year 1079.
The southern part was founded in 1268 by a famous abbot of Sakya named Phakpa who had ruled the whole of Tibet under the Yuan Dynasty's supervision.
In 2003, around 84,000 scrolls were found sealed in a wall 60 meters long and 10 meters high at this Monastery.
It is anticipated that they will be Buddhist scriptures, as well as literature, history, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and art from ancient times. Those scrolls are said to have remained untouched for hundreds of years. They are being examined by the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences.
