A close-up of the Tibetan-style Sakya Monastery in Shigatse city. [Photo by Zhang Xingjian/chinadaily.com.cn]

Located in Sakya county, Southwest of Shigatse city, Tibet autonomous region, the Sakya Monastery is the principal monastery of the Sakyapa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

At first, it comprised both the Northern and Southern Monasteries; however, the Northern Monastery is today only as a ruin.

The Sakya Monastery is famed as the "Second Dunhuang" due to its colossal collection of numerous Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, murals and Thangkas.

Most of the murals are from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Among them, few of the most outstanding and precious murals depict portraits of the former Sakya ancestors, Phakpa's meeting with Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, and mandalas.