Around the bend, my first glimpse of the temple’s golden roof. And then I see the huge complex: the chalky white stupa; the dry stone prayer halls washed in cinnabar and fringed with temple trim; the monks’ quarters, with cleanly swept courtyards open to the elements. The temple feels ancient, lost in time, as if it had rooted itself on the mountain flank, and, for added protection, sought anchorage in the gnarled trunks of the juniper forest.

Photograph:  Lisa Lindblad

Location:  Kangtsa Monastery, Zorge, Gansu Province, China