introduce
Dege Sutra Printing House, also known as "Dege Auspicious Juhui Sutra Printing House", is located in Gengqing Temple, a Sakya Sect temple in Dege County, Sichuan.
The Dege Sutra Printing Institute has a history of more than 270 years. There are more than 830 various classics and more than 290,000 woodblock printing plates in the courtyard. Its classics are of high value for the study of Tibetan history, economy, religion, and medicine. The Sutra Printing Institute still retains the original hand-engraved printing method, printing Buddhist classics such as "Tripitaka", "Kanjur" and "Tanjur". All have strict quality standards to ensure that the writing on the scriptures is clear and unchanged for a long time.
Due to the climate, the Dege Sutra Printing House only prints sutras for half a year, from March 15th to September 20th in the Tibetan calendar. During this period, people can visit and worship in the courtyard, which is called "Balchadong". Dege became the birthplace of Kham standard Tibetan language, which is not unrelated to the rich cultural heritage of the Sutra Printing House. Dege Sutra Printing House and Gengqing Temple were originally one of the chieftain’s family temples in Dege, with a large scale. The current site is Dege Middle School.
opening hours
10:00-18:00; 8:30-11:30, 14:00-17:30 all year round
must see tips
At the entrance of the Sutra Printing House, there will often be a local child who actively follows the "explaining" in order to earn a "salary", and then asks tourists for a considerable fee, which can be decided or refused according to the situation, so as not to cause disputes.
