[2] It was established as a branch of Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Gompa (Nama Ge’erde Si) near the border with Gansu Province in 1693 but has outgrown its mother monastery.

It is located on the Tibetan plateau at an elevation of 3,200 metres (10,499 ft.) Outside the north wall of the monastery is a towering statue of Shakyamuni Buddha.

[2] It the largest Tibetan Monastery in Ngawa Town, and established the Buddhist Youth School, which was closed by Chinese authorities.

Originally the thangka was smaller, but after the 4th Panchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (1567–1662), the size was increased more and more until it reached its present dimensions.

Accounts differ as to his condition, as some state he survived[17] while other eyewitness reports, including the Self-immolation Fact Sheet from International Campaign for Tibet, state that when Tapey "began to shout slogans (no details are yet known of what he said), People’s Armed Police (PAP) personnel stationed nearby opened fire, and Tapey fell to the ground.

"[18] In early 2011, Kirti monks were sent to Chinese re-education programs, which the United Nations Commission on Human Rights questioned.

[19] Then on 16 March 2011, a 24-year-old monk named Phuntsog died in a hospital after setting himself on fire in protest against Chinese rule, three years after the demonstrations during the 2008 Tibetan uprising anniversary.

He added "Whatever the reason for this, it's a very strong and desperate indication that the people there are totally unhappy,"[19] Tibetan residents began a demonstration at the Public Security Bureau which turned deadly.

[21] The 14th Dalai Lama issued an appeal on 15 April 2011 to both sides and to the international community, citing the situation at Kirti Monastery and the self-immolations, and describing the standoff between the Chinese forces and the Tibetan people.

[22][23] A report by the International Campaign for Tibet states 300 monks were taken away on 21 April 2011 by paramilitary police who also severely beat a group of laypeople standing vigil outside the monastery, killing two old women and badly wounding other protesters.

[26] The BBC reported in October 2011 on a spate of self-immolations at the monastery by monks and nuns protesting PRC rule and the accompanying restrictions on human rights and religious freedom.

[19] On October 17, a Buddhist nun named Tenzin Wangmo became the first female self-immolation victim in Aba, and the ninth of the year.

[27] In response to the rise in protests, PRC authorities reportedly detained some monks in compulsory reeducation-through-labour and detention facilities, leading the monastery's population to decline from 2,500 to 600, from March to October 2011.