Nature's Masterpiece—An Open-Air Stone Carving Museum on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
The Jiana Mani Stone Scripture City is situated deep within the heart of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, resting at an elevation of over 3,600 meters with an average annual temperature of approximately 2°C. The air here is thin yet pure, the ultraviolet radiation intense, and the sky displays that profound, deep azure characteristic of the high plateau. Standing within the Stone City and gazing upward, the white clouds seem almost within reach, while the distant mountain ridges undulate endlessly across the horizon. As the seasons turn, the Stone City reveals vastly different visages: in summer and autumn, the meadows surrounding the city burst with lush greenery—wildflowers dotting the landscape—creating a vivid contrast against the white stone walls; in winter and spring, snow blankets the stone mounds, prayer flags snap briskly in the wind, and the entire world is steeped in a silent, solemn palette of silvery white.
What is most breathtaking, however, is neither the vegetation nor the terrain, but rather the visual transformations the Stone City undergoes under the shifting natural light. In the early morning, as the first rays of sunlight crest the ridges and fall upon the Mani Stone City, the white stone surfaces and multicolored inscriptions take on a warm, soft texture within the gentle illumination. At high noon, the direct sunlight of the plateau causes every chisel mark on the stone carvings to cast a sharp, distinct shadow, making the three-dimensional depth of the inscriptions seem to leap out at the viewer. At dusk, the setting sun bathes the entire Stone City in a golden glow; prayer flags flutter in the breeze, and shadows stretch long across the stone walls—a truly golden hour for photography.
The climate of the high plateau is mercurial; within a single day, one might witness a rapid succession of clear skies, rain, snow, hail, and rainbows. This mysterious unpredictability of the weather harmonizes perfectly with the inherent religious atmosphere of the Stone City, creating a truly unique travel experience.
> Photography Tips: The best time for photography is between 8:00 and 10:00 AM, when soft side-lighting helps accentuate the textures and carvings of the Mani stones. The prayer corridors are ideal for capturing silhouettes of people amidst the interplay of light and shadow. Drone aerial photography offers a perspective that highlights the Stone City's orderly rectangular layout and the surrounding plateau landscape. Photographing in winter after a snowfall creates a visually pristine scene, where the white snow blends seamlessly with the white stone walls. Please note: when using drones at religious sites, it is essential to respect local beliefs and customs; it is advisable to seek permission or consult with locals in advance.
Human Ingenuity—An Epic of Civilization Written in Stone
The Jiana Mani Stone Scripture City is by no means a mere pile of stones; it is a cultural monument forged from scripture and faith—the pinnacle of Tibetan stone-carving art.
2.5 Billion Mani Stones—A Vast Ocean of Faith
Stepping into the Jiana Mani Stone Scripture City, one is immediately struck by its sheer scale. The city of scriptures is constructed from approximately 2.5 billion Mani stones; stretching about 300 meters from east to west and 80 meters from north to south, it rises to a height of 4 meters, covering a ground area of 24,000 square meters with a total volume approaching 90,000 cubic meters. Experts have hailed it as "the only mountain in the world built entirely of written words."
These Mani stones vary widely in size and shape—some are as large as a tabletop, while others are no bigger than an egg. Each stone surface is engraved with the Tibetan Six-Syllable Mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum," alongside a wealth of other content including images of the Buddha, legal codes, calendrical calculations, and artistic treatises. Some artisans have meticulously carved entire Buddhist sutras across numerous stones—complete with covers and backings—assembling them into sets of "scripture books." To the east of the Mani mound stand eight white stupas and a massive prayer wheel, while the opposite side is almost entirely composed of Mani stones carved with images of the Buddha, displaying exquisite craftsmanship and harmonious color palettes.
The Art of Stone Carving—Spiritual Practice at the Blade's Edge
The stone material used for the Jiana Mani carvings is a variety of Tibetan white jade—pure and lustrous as true jade—known in Tibetan as Yongchi Gabu. It is quarried from the peaks of the Duocong Mountains situated south of Xinzai Village. The carving techniques employed are rich and diverse, encompassing intaglio (incised carving), relief carving, high relief, and bas-relief.
In Xinzai Village, the art of stone carving has been passed down through the generations. 46-year-old Cairen Kanzhuo represents the fourth generation of her family to practice this craft; she is also recognized as a regional-level inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Having begun her apprenticeship in stone carving at the age of eleven or twelve, she has now dedicated over thirty years to this art form. She explained: "I began carving stones alongside my father when I was just a child. After he passed away, our family's craft fell to me; I knew I had a duty to carry on this legacy."
Another stone-carving artisan—a "post-80s" generation artist named Tashi Lhatso—has gained a modest reputation for her ability to carve intricate, small-scale Mani stones. To the locals, she is a true Dodo (the Tibetan term for a stone-carving artisan)—a woman blessed with "skin as fair as milk, a heart as compassionate as a Bodhisattva, hands guided by divine skill, and a face as radiant as a celestial maiden." She is capable of carving around twenty Mani stones inscribed with the Six-Syllable Mantra in a single day. As she puts it: "Anything worth doing will eventually turn out well, provided one invests the necessary effort and accumulates enough experience." Today, Xinzhai Village is home to over a thousand Mani stone carvers; collectively, they generate an annual income of approximately 24 million yuan, with the most prolific artisans earning up to 100,000 yuan per year.
Xinzhai Monastery and the Prayer Wheel Corridor—The Spiritual Core of the "Stone City"
Situated to the south of the "Stone City" lies Xinzhai Monastery, an institution boasting a history just as ancient and profound as the city itself. Encircling the Stone City are ten massive prayer wheels and over three hundred smaller ones. From dawn until dusk each day, countless devotees circumambulate the Stone City in a clockwise direction, chanting the Six-Syllable Mantra aloud while spinning the prayer wheels held in their hands. They believe that with every turn of a prayer wheel—and every touch of a Mani stone—they are offering a blessing for the well-being of all sentient beings.
Pilgrimage on the 15th Day of the First Lunar Month—An Annual Feast of Faith
The 15th day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar marks the most auspicious day of pilgrimage at the Jiana Mani Stone Scripture City. On this day, tens of thousands of devotees from regions such as Qinghai, Tibet, and Sichuan converge upon this sacred site. They circumambulate the Stone City, perform full-body prostrations, offer butter lamps, and scatter Lungta (prayer flags). The air before the monastery's shrine is thick with the smoke of burning incense, while the rhythmic chanting of scriptures rises and falls in waves—creating a scene of truly magnificent spiritual grandeur.
"A Cultural Treasure": A Testament of Faith Not to Be Missed
Mani Stones—Sacred Stones Endowed with a Soul
The term "Mani" is derived from Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures; it serves as an abbreviation for the Six-Syllable Mantra: "Om Mani Padme Hum." Adherents of Tibetan Buddhism regard the offering of inscribed stones—known as Mani stones—as a sacred act of merit: a means of seeking the Buddha's blessings, expressing spiritual reverence, and dispelling misfortune and illness. According to tradition, an ordinary stone, once inscribed with the Six-Syllable Mantra (Om Mani Padme Hum), ceases to be merely a stone; it becomes imbued with a soul and divine blessings. In Buddhist scriptures, the Six-Syllable Mantra is interpreted as embodying profound merits, such as liberating sentient beings across the Six Realms of Existence, dispelling the Six Afflictions, cultivating the Six Paramitas (perfections), attaining the Six Bodies of the Buddha, and giving rise to the Six Wisdoms.
The Stone-Carved Library: Wisdom Etched in Stone
Jiana Mani is not merely a city of faith; it is also a vast, open-air library of stone inscriptions. Beyond the Six-Syllable Mantra, this "Stone City" is home to tens of thousands of Mani stones inscribed with legal codes, astronomical calculations, artistic treatises, and excerpts from classic Buddhist scriptures. Some artisans have meticulously carved entire sets of Buddhist sutras across hundreds of individual stones—complete with covers and backings—assembling them into "stone books" that can be literally "read." For scholars researching Tibetan calligraphy, the history of Tibetan Buddhism, and Tibetan folk culture, Jiana Mani possesses an irreplaceable academic value.
The Stone Carvers: Guardians of Faith
In Xinzai Village, the carving of Mani stones is not merely a craft practiced for a livelihood; it is, above all, a spiritual discipline. Tashi Latso explains: "Before carving a Mani stone, one must first make a sacred vow. While carving, reciting the Six-Syllable Mantra just once is considered equivalent to reciting an entire volume of scripture. Furthermore, any sentient being touched by the wind after it has swept across these Mani stones is said to receive the blessings and benefits embodied within them." Today, Mani stones serve not only as objects of religious offering and prayer but have also become cherished souvenirs for visitors to Yushu, carrying the spiritual merits of Mani far beyond their place of origin.
