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Tongren (铜仁; Tóngrén; Tibetan: Rebkong) is a city in Huangnan Prefecture, Qinghai Province.

[edit] Get in

Tongren can only be reached by road. The closest major city is Xining, about four hours away by bus.

[edit] Get around

The town of Tongren is small enough to walk, but to visit the painting monasteries you will need to either hire a cab or catch a ride in a minibus. Both frequently roam the Tongren's streets, and it is easy enough to flag one down. Expect about yen;5 a person each way.

[edit][add listing] See

• Wutong Monastery (五屯寺), (In Sangkeshan Village 10km outside town). The main reason to visit Tongren is to see thangkas painted. These elaborate Buddhist works of art have been created here for centuries, and the town is still considered the best place in the Tibetan world to buy one. Studios are concentrated in and around the monastery. There is an upper （上寺） and lower （下寺） monastery, of which the upper is far more impressive. The upper charges 10RMB, the lower 26RMB, and the monks at both will offer to take you to a studio. There is no pressure to buy anything, and you can watch as long as you like.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

• Main Market. Lively place, with fruit stands and fun restaurants.  edit

• Performance Arts Theater, (At the south end of the main market). Few shows outside the summer tourist season.  edit

[edit][add listing] Buy

• Thangkas. The best deals are straight from the artist at Wutong. Your main options are to buy a pre-made thangka or to commission one. Not all artists will have pre-made goods to sell, and the most popular ones may have years worth of reservations. It takes one month to create a small painting and up to four for a large one, but thankfully the artists all have e-mails, phones and fax machines, so it is possible to ship your work of art overseas whenever it is completed. These paintings run anywhere from ¥500 to ¥10,000, depending on size, quality and reputation of the artist. Shop around.  edit

The main market has a couple of shockingly fashionable botiques, including a clothing store owned by a Tibetan with excellent English on the center of the main street. China's heavy army presence in these parts also means there is plenty of second-hand military stores in town.

[edit][add listing] Eat

Hui food dominates with dozens of noodle stands on every street. A few unnamed Tibetan places are hidden in small alleys, look for the people eating on couches instead of tables.

[edit][add listing] Drink

[edit][add listing] Sleep

Walk north (uphill) from the bus station to reach a string of Chinese guesthouses. They charge yen;10-30 per bed. Watch out because many of these have early curfews and rather primitive bathroom facilites. A couple proper hotels are in the market area, with better rooms and slightly higher prices.

• Sanxin Hotel (Sanxin Binguan), Zhongshan Road (Near the main market). Appears not to accept foreign guests.  edit

• Dianxin Hotel (Dianxin Binguan). Rooms with free within-country long distance and in-room internet access. Accepts foreign guests. Doubles for yen;130.  edit

• Huangnan Hotel (Huangnan Binguan). Accepts foreign guests. Doubles for yen;80.  edit

[edit] Get out

• Buses run to Xiahe and Xining daily.

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