Samding Dorje Phagmo The Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery, also known as Sungtseling and Guihuasi[1] (Tibetan: དགའ་ལྡན་སུམ་རྩེན་གླིང་, Wylie: dga' ldan sum rtsen gling, THL: ganden sumtsenling; Chinese: 松赞林寺, pinyin: Sōngzànlín Sì), is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city of Shangri-La at elevation 3,380 metres (11,090 ft) in Yunnan province, China.

Located in the capital of Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, it is also the most important monastery in southwest China.

It belongs to the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelukpa order of the Dalai Lama.

[2][3][4][5] The monastery, with a group of structures packed together on a rolling farm land, located in the town of Jiantang in the Yunnan province, now renamed as Shangri-la town in the renamed Shangri-la county, is in the heart of the mountain range known as Hengduan Mountain Range; it is part of the Mount Baimang Nature Reserve in Yunnan province but the monastery does not have snow covered backdrop.

[11][12] In the 24 April 1936, the monastery had provided full support to the Communist general He Long who passed through this area during his campaign.

The entrance gate is at the foot of the hill and provides access to the main hall of the monastery through 146 steps.

[6][11] The Gedong Festival is held in the precincts of the monastery annually on 29 November when devotees from the region attend to worship and also to witness the religious mask dances – the Cham dance – that are performed by the monks in colourful costumes depicting deities, ghosts and animals.

Families of villagers camp in tents at the designated horse racing meadow land at an elevation of 3,288 metres (10,787 ft).