Kheong

Kheong, or Kangwu, belongs to the mountain country of Muli. Its historical religious centre was Kangwu Monastery, founded in 1604 according to the monastery history preserved in local Tibetan accounts. Its founder came from Amdo and continued the teaching work of his master, Chöje Sangye Gyatso. Connections between teachers, monasteries and successive incarnate lamas helped establish Buddhist institutions in this part of the mountains.

The monastery developed through repeated additions. Its complex included assembly halls, monks' dwellings and the larang, a residence associated with Muli's ruling lama. Religious instruction and political authority thus occupied closely connected spaces. Kangwu belonged to the network of monasteries through which Muli's Buddhist leadership maintained its position, with its founder also connected to the teaching and administration of Waerzai Monastery.