Being 160 kliometers west of Xigaze, the Sakya Monastery is composed of Southern and Northern Monasteries. The Northern Monastery was built in 1097 and was damaged now while the Southern Monastery in 1268. The Southern Monastery houses great amounts of cultural relics including the titles, seals, crowns, garments and ornaments awarded by the Yuan imperial court to the local officials, the statues of Buddha, ritual instruments and porcelains from the Song, Yuan and other later dynasties, and the precious murals of historical themes. Also the monastery preserves great numbers of books such as the "Bakgyur", "Bstanggyur",Pattra-leaf scripture and other Tibetan classics on astronomy, geography, history, medicines and literature.

Sakya reached its heyday in the second half of the 13th century, when it was showered with gifts and privileges and given control over all Tibet by Kublai Khan, the Mongolia emperor of China. A separate sect of Tibetan Buddhism, named Sakyapa, also took from here. Sakye is reputed as the "Tibetan Dunhuang", for its great amount of Mongolian fineries, porcelain, statues, fresco, precious Tangkas and original Buddhism Scriptures.