Hezuo is a convenient transport hub in Gansu, central China, so it was inevitable that we’d end up there. But we didn’t just pass through, we stayed the night so we could visit the Milarepa Palace Buddhist Temple. 

It’s a huge nine-storey building where spiritual leaders from varying sects are worshipped on each floor. When we arrived, a group of Tibetans were prostrating themselves at the entrance to the palace, but no one was entering the palace itself, so we had it all to ourselves. 

We followed the creaky wooden floors and narrow stairs up each level, passing intricate artwork and walls covered in hundreds, possibly thousands, of Buddha and Lama statues. 

While it was interesting to witness, it was a little underwhelming. I think I prefer visiting active monasteries with monks chanting etc.  

As we stepped back outside we made our way over to the Tso Gompa which is the towns main monastery. On the way we stopped to use the public toilets which were a sight for sore eyes. I opened the doors to about 10 different cubicles, each one shocking me more than the last. Diarrhoea covered the floor and abnormally large turds sat in places where they don’t belong. 

We made our way up a wide staircase where Craig commented that it was strange that we hadn’t seen a single monk. Just as we got to the top of the stairs, we were confronted by a beautiful scene – where dozens of monks sat on the floor together in front of a leader who was chanting. Two dogs laid on the ground nearby, and we found a little place to sit and watch from a distance. 

Suddenly the monks all stood up and repositioned themselves into small groups, where half of them stood up and half sat down. When I heard the first clap, I knew exactly what we were witnessing – it was philosophical debates and it’s something I really wanted to see.

The monks standing up were firing questions at the seated monks. The debates aren’t about arguing, instead it’s to sharpen the mind and defeat misconceptions. 

Suddenly the air was filled with claps echoing off the monastery walls. I read that the clap can mean many different things, sometimes they’ll clap once they’ve asked the question, to awaken their wisdom. They may also clap to show respect and appreciation for their appointments answer. 

We sat, watching the dramatic show until they all stood again, this time positioning half the group on the left and half on the right. The leader took someone from each group to the front and they began debating publicly. When one of the sides won the debate, that team would all let out a funny noise, along with a cheer. 

It was very entertaining to watch, and after a while they moved into the entrance room of the hall, where they continued the debates inside. They all left their robes on the courtyard floor though, so it almost looked like a spell had been cast and they’d vanished into thin air, leaving just their clothes and two confused dogs behind. 

We ventured around the monastery, admiring all of the buildings and saying hello to the monks we met. One of which insisted on giving us some bread and directing us to sit on the wall in front of the kitchen hall. He then brought out a large teapot and poured yak butter tea into cups for us. It’s a very savoury drink, not my cup of tea (excuse the pun) but it worked well with the bread as it acted like a soup. 

The monk kept popping outside to offer us more bread and tea – it was a really lovely and authentic experience. After our snacks, we continued exploring the various buildings until it was time to head to the bus station and make our way to Xiahe, home to one of Tibet’s most famous monastery’s.