Daocheng (Chinese: 稻城；pinyin: dàochéng): Located near the conjunction areas of Sichuan, Yuannan and Tibet at an average elevation of 3800m, Daochang is full of discovery of primitive Tibetan villages, Buddhisit Monasteries and pastoral scenery brought by the various and bewitching landscapes. Daocheng's original Tibetan name was Daoba, which literally means 'the open valley'. It covers 7323 square kilometers and its 30,000 inhabitants are mainly Tibetans. The streets are full of monks and nomad herders while in the nearby fields people live and work much as they have done for thousands of years. Of the 13 monasteries in the county, Xiongden Monastery and Gonggaling Monastery are the best known. Xiongdeng Monastery, built during the early Ming Dynasty, keeps 100,000 books of Tibetan scriptures and a sandal wood figure of Sakymuni presented by Panchan Lama IX is consecrated. The Bangpu Monastery, which was originally constructed in 1144 AD and rebuilt in 1997, houses one hundred monks and sits on the eastern bank of the Daocheng River just to the north of Sang Dui Town. 44 kilometers south of Daocheng on the road to the Yading Nature Reserve it is the Gonggaling Monastery, which is the largest Yellow Hat Sect (Gelugpa) Monastery and possesses a bronze statue of Maitreya presented by Dalai Lama V in China.