Langmusi, literally meaning "fairy monastery", is situated some 90km from Luqu County, on the main Gansu to Sichuan highway track. The town was so named after an ancient legend that tells of a fairy turned into stone on a mountain not far away. This small town is a great place to stop off for a few days, especially for those coming from or heading to the grueling roads south from here.

The town now harbors two monasteries, facing each other over the river and valley bottom, and housing around 1,200 monks. It was originally built as a crucial academic institute for lamas studying Tibetan Buddhism, but gradually lost importance, forming a sharp contrast with the increasingly popular Labrang Monastery of Xiahe. The town still remains, despite a few signs of decaying prosperity (or perhaps because of them), a beautiful place, not overly plagued by tourists. The mountain cliffs that rear up to both the east and west of the small town are breathtaking, giving the whole area a kind of Swiss alpine charm. These and other mountains in the area can be scaled to give spectacular, though desolate, views of this remote area. The sky burials up here, where deceased locals are cut up and left to the vultures, are best left alone.

The town itself is full of cackling locals and some old, rickety wooden buildings. Wandering about, you are likely to be grabbed by inquisitive red robed boy-monks and asked to show your camera, smile inanely or try to chat in English, Putonghua or even Tibetan. The town is split by a small river, with the main housing and one temple on one side, and the other, more prosperous temple up a slope on the other. There are not many hotels in town so your best bet is to look into a few of them for the best price or cleanest rooms. All are fairly simple affairs. For dining the best restaurant by far is Lesha's, on the main road into town, past the bus stop on the right. This tiny restaurant is run by a provincial ex-basketball player and his wife, and has a very homely atmosphere (mainly due to the fact that it is their home). Served within are Gansu's best apple or peach pies, mammoth Cornish pasty shaped affairs.

How to get Langmusi :
Langmusi can generally be reached from either Zoigê (Ruoergai) in Sichuan to the south, or Hezuo in Gansu to the north. From Xiahe buses leave for Hezuo once or twice hourly between 6:30am and 4pm (RMB10, two and a half hours). The Hezuo-Zoigê buses will drop you off on a dirt track some 4km from the town, where you can catch local transport on for a few kuai.
To:
Hezuo: The schedule for many of the Hezuo buses are not overly reliable. The town has both direct buses, but more frequent are the buses to Zoigê that pass by Langmusi. Almost all of the buses leave early so it is worth setting your alarm. The journey takes around six hours and costs a bargainable RMB20 or so. Direct buses allegedly leave at 6:30 and 8am, indirect buses before 8am.
Zoigê: Direct buses to Langmusi leave from here at around 6:40am alternate days from each of the two bus stations. You can also catch the 6:20am bus that goes to Hezuo, via Langmusi. Price will be around RMB25.
From:
When departing your best bet on finding information is to ask (if you have a little Chinese) at Lesha's about bus times. A direct bus normally departs for Hezuo from the town at 6:30am (RMB20, six hours). Buses to Zoigê will have to be caught again at the intersection, and normally pass around noon and 3pm.