The Hall of Great Golden Tiles (Daijinwa Dian) is the architectural centrepiece of Kumbum, a Tibetan-style temple covered in gilded copper tiles that flash in bright sunlight and can be seen from the valley below. Built over the sacred site of Tsongkhapa's birth — the spot where the legendary sandalwood tree is said to have grown — it contains the main stupa enshrining the saint's relics and is the holiest space in the complex.
The hall's exterior is particularly dramatic in the morning when the angle of the sun illuminates the gilded roof against the blue Qinghai sky. The interior is richly decorated with thangkas, butter lamps, and the layered textile hangings typical of Gelug monasteries. Monks conduct daily prayer ceremonies; arriving during a ceremony, when the hall fills with chanting and the smell of incense and butter lamps, gives a sense of the monastery as a living institution rather than a museum piece.