Dharamshala — Chinese authorities expelled Tibetan monks and nuns from the Larung Gar, in Sertar County, eastern Tibet, following a large-scale operation to demolish their living quarters that began on July 13, 2026. Furthermore, the authorities are imposing severe restrictions on the freedom of movement of monks and nuns, as well as on pilgrims and tourists to visit to the monastery. The demolitions took place following the implementation of China’s new law, so-called the “Law on Ethnic Unity and Progress.”
According to the sources, Chinese authorities in Sertar County, eastern Tibet, recently issued a directive ordering monks and nuns from the Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy, better known as Larung Gar (Monastery), whose living quarters had been demolished from July 13 till now, to return to their homes or original monasteries, thereby forbidding them from the monastery and continue their studies. This is a ploy by Chinese authorities to expel these religious practitioners from the monastery under the pretext of demolishing their dwellings.
The Chinese authorities announced that the demolition targeted at least 1,060 housing units occupied by monks and nuns; consequently, more than 1060 monastics will be expelled from the monastery, marking a further violation of the religious freedom of Tibetan monks and nuns. In additonally, the Chinese authorities imposed severe restrictions on the freedom of movement of monks and nuns, as well as on pilgrims and tourists to visit to the monastery.
The Chinese authorities have demolished thousands of residences of Tibetan monks and nuns in Larung Gar, the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institute, since 2001. The latest wave of demolitions began in mid-July and is set to destroy 1,060 dwellings of monks and nuns. These demolitions took place following the implementation of China’s new law, so-called the “Law on Ethnic Unity and Progress,” which came into effect on July 1, 2026.
Chinese authorities began to demolish at least 1,060 dwellings belonging to monks and nuns at the Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy, starting on July 13, 2026; at least six dwellings were demolished till July 15, 2026. These actions occurred following the implementation of so-called China's new “Law on Ethnic Unity and Progress” on July 1, 2026, which targets the Tibetan language, identity, culture, and religion as part of a policy of Sinicization and imposes the assimilation of Tibetans into Chinese culture through public institutions.
"The demolitions in Larung Gar began around July 13, 2026, and are being carried out at night, which is seen as a tactic by the authorities to prevent public documentation, media coverage, and satellite monitoring. As of July 15, 2026, six dwellings had been demolished, and Chinese authorities continue to destroy the residences; they have targeted at least 1,060 dwellings belonging to monks and nuns for demolition as part of this latest phase of demolitions," the sources said.
In 2001, Chinese authorities launched their first large-scale demolition and forced eviction operations at the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, targeting thousands of monastic dwellings. Since then, the Chinese government has intermittently resumed its destruction activities, notably launching a massive demolition operation in July 2016 that reportedly resulted in the expulsion of more than 4,800 monks and nuns and the demolition of 4,700 dwellings.
China-Tibet: The one-thing you need to know:
Over the past 70 decades, there has been ongoing political repression, social discrimination, economic marginalization, environmental destruction, and cultural assimilation, particularly due to Chinese migration to Tibet which is fueling intense resentment among the people of occupied Tibet.
The communist-totalitarian state of China began its invasion of Tibet in 1949, reaching complete occupation of the country in 1959. Since that time, more than 1.2 million people, 20% of the nation's population of six million, have died as a direct result of China's invasion and occupation. In addition, over 99% of Tibet's six thousand religious monasteries, temples, and shrines, have been looted or decimated resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures.
Until 1949, Tibet was an independent Buddhist nation in the Himalayas which had little contact with the rest of the world. It existed as a rich cultural storehouse of the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings of Buddhism. Religion was a unifying theme among the Tibetans -- as was their own language, literature, art, and world view developed by living at high altitudes, under harsh conditions, in a balance with their environment.
