title: Shalu Monastery
text: # Shalu Monastery
  
  Shalu Monastery (Tibetan: ཞྭ་ལུ།, Wylie: zhwa lu) is small monastery 22 kilometres (14 mi) south of Shigatse in Tibet. Founded in 1040 by Chetsun Sherab Jungnay, for centuries it was renowned as a centre of scholarly learning and psychic training and its mural paintings were considered to be the most ancient and beautiful in Tibet. Shalu was the first of the major monasteries to be built by noble families of the Tsangpa during Tibet's great revival of Buddhism, and was an important center of the Sakya tradition.
  
  ## Repair and reconstruction
  
  Repair and reconstruction of Shalu Monastery began on May 13, 2009, according to the Chinese government Xinhua online news. "The project, one of Tibet's biggest heritage renovation projects under the 11th Five Year Plan (2006–2010), involves reinforcement of its buildings, maintenance of sewage treatment facilities and improvement of fire and flood control systems", a prefectural government official said. It is planned to spend more than 16 million RMB yuan on the project.
  
  