Gandantegchinlen Monastery

Gandantegchinlen Monastery, also known as Gandan Monastery, is a Buddhist monastery in Bayangol District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It was founded in 1809, closed amid persecutions in 1939, and from 1944 to 1989 was the country's only active monastery. Today, it is the center of Buddhism in Mongolia. The monastery has more than 100 resident monks and numerous Buddhist treasures, including a 26-metre (85 ft) statue of Avalokiteśvara made of gilded bronze and precious stones.