China’s brutal assault on Tibetan Buddhism sees over 1,000 monks expelled from Larung Gar Academy

Chinese authorities have recently dealt a blow to the major hub of Tibetan Buddhist learning by expelling more than 1,000 Tibetan monks and nuns from the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, according to individuals within Tibet.

According to the sources cited by Radio Free Asia (RFA), administrators stated that they must reduce the number of Buddhist clergy living at the academy from 6,000 to 5,000 due to a lack of appropriate residency papers. This action is the most recent in a long line of actions by China to dismantle and reduce the size of the academy, which housed roughly 40,000 Buddhist monastics by the early 2000s.

Chinese authorities demolished part of the compound and expelled thousands of nuns and monks in 2016. County officials issued an order outlining the intentions for the forced expulsions and demolitions between 2016 and 2017, RFA reported.

Larung Gar is in Serthar County (Seda in Chinese), part of the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. According to a report by RFA in December 2024, approximately 400 officials and police were sent there. According to the sources, officials have pressured hundreds of Buddhist religious members to voluntarily depart.

“They are strictly prohibited from taking photos freely and are only allowed to visit designated areas within the monastery.” Many of the residences of expelled Buddhist clergy have been marked for demolition, although they have not been destroyed yet, a source said as quoted by RFA.

According to the source, plans are underway to construct a road through the monastery in April, resulting in additional demolitions, RFA quoted. Beijing’s larger plan to diminish the number and power of religious organisations, especially those associated with Tibetan Buddhism, is thought to include the most recent crackdown.