Qutan Monastery stands in Qutan town, about 21 kilometres from the Ledu county seat, according to a proposal submitted to Qinghai’s provincial legislature in 2021. The same document dates the monastery’s foundation to 1392 and outlines a plan linking preservation with visitor infrastructure. Its 33 proposed projects included work on the monastery, a Ming–Qing commercial street, a folk-culture village, a new town area, a visitor centre, museum displays and environmental improvements. The proposal estimated a total investment of 1.2 billion yuan. It also reported that construction of the new town area had been completed and put into use, while other projects faced delays tied to funding gaps and resettlement. Together, the listed projects linked conservation work at the monastery with streets, public facilities and a new town area.
From the journal
Qutan Monastery in Ledu’s 2021 Town Plan
A 2021 proposal to Qinghai’s provincial legislature placed Qutan Monastery within a wider preservation and town-development plan. A 2025 university field study later visited the monastery among Ledu’s tourism resources.
A monastery within a town plan
The monastery on a later field itinerary
From 29 October to 2 November 2025, a Qinghai Normal University team visited more than ten Ledu townships and tourism-resource sites, including Qutan Monastery. Researchers spoke with local government departments, site managers and villagers about tourism resources, heritage protection and cultural-product development. Their itinerary also included Liuwan Painted Pottery Museum and other local projects.
The visits returned to a place named in the 2021 proposal, but asked a different set of questions. The university report listed construction-land constraints, limited brand recognition, infrastructure gaps and a shortage of specialist staff among Ledu’s challenges. Qutan appeared within this larger landscape of preservation, local tourism and settlement planning.