甘丹寺 Gandantegchinlen Monastery

甘丹寺為全蒙古最大的藏傳佛教寺廟，於1838年由第四世哲布尊丹巴 (The Fourth Bogd Gegeen) 所建。「甘丹」是藏語音譯，意為「兜率天」，指未來佛彌勒所教化的世界。寺內擁有一座高達26.5公尺的章冉澤大佛，是全世界最大的銅鑄觀世音菩薩塑像，全身鍍金，鑲嵌大量寶石，氣勢雄偉，富麗堂皇，是蒙古的國寶。

佛教最早於公元前三世紀傳入蒙古，比佛教傳入中國早三百年，更比佛教入主西藏早了約八百年。1930年代蒙古受奉行共產主義的人民革命黨統治，佛教遭全面打擊，全國1000多間寺廟被關閉及破壞。甘丹寺是少數倖存的寺廟之一，以及唯一維持運作的寺廟，直至1990年蒙古在蘇聯倒台後民主化，佛教始得以復甦，再次成為蒙古人的生活一部份。

Ganden Monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Mongolia. It was built by the Fourth Bogd Gegeen in 1838. Ganden is a Tibetan transliteration of "Tusita days", referring to the future world preached by the Buddha Maitreya. The temple has the world's largest bronze statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva statue Zhang Ranze Buddha, with height of 26.5 meters. Gilded body, inlaid with a large number of precious stones, imposing, magnificent, the statue is a Monoglian national treasure.

The reign of the People's Revolutionary Party since 1938 came with a religious purge, driving Bhuddism practice undergound. The temple is the only one in Mongolia to maintain in operation throughout this period. It was not until Mongolia’s democratisation in 1990 that people started to openly practice Bhuddism once again.