Songzanlin Monastery, a painting-like view

Songzanlin Monastery in Shangri-La is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan and the center of the Gelug school of Buddhism in the Sichuan-Yunnan region. The monastery is built on a mountain and surrounded by water. Its flying eaves and interlocking brackets, together with the red, white, and gold colors of the monastery, shine brightly under the intense sunlight of the plateau, earning it the nickname "Little Potala Palace." The sunlight pours over the Lamuyangcuo Lake in front of the monastery, where water birds stand leisurely on the thin ice. The calm, mirror-like surface of the lake reflects the solemn figure of the monastery, creating a scene that looks like an oil painting.