Lhasa Travel Guide
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Other attractions of Lhasa
Gallery of The Guge Kingdom
The Guge Kingdom Travel Guide
Ticket Fee :CNY 100-CNY 130
Opening Hours :
Traffic :It is convenient to hire a vehicle to go there,or take buses to Zhabran Village then walk to the place.
DCT Tips :Recommended time for a visit: three hours.
Brief Introduction :
Brief Introduction
The Guge Kingdom was founded in about the 10th century by a descendant of King Glang Darma, who fled from Lhasa after the collapse of the Tupo Kingdom. The kingdom played an important role in the second renascence in Tibet and survived for about 700 years before disappearing mysteriously in the 17th century.
Guge Kingdom has attracted many explorers, tourists, photographers and artists from all over the world.The ruins of Guge Kingdom are located on a mountain in Zhabran Village, which is 18 km west of the county town of Zhada.
The first Westerners to reach Guge were a Jesuit missionary Ant¨®nio de Andrade and his brother, Manuel Marques, in 1626. De Andrade reported seeing irrigation canals and rich crops in what is now a dry and desolate land.
Perhaps as evidence of the kingdom´s openness, de Andrade´s party was allowed to construct a chapel in Tsaparang and instruct the people about Christianity. This decision might have brought Guge to its end. Some accounts relate that the king´s brother, a staunch Buddhist, called Ladakhis to overthrow the ruler, who had converted to Christianity along with his queen. It is believed that the Ladakhi army slaughtered most of the people of Guge, about 200 of whom managed to survive and fled to Qulon.
The Guge Kingdom was founded in about the 10th century by a descendant of King Glang Darma, who fled from Lhasa after the collapse of the Tupo Kingdom. The kingdom played an important role in the second renascence in Tibet and survived for about 700 years before disappearing mysteriously in the 17th century.
Guge Kingdom has attracted many explorers, tourists, photographers and artists from all over the world.The ruins of Guge Kingdom are located on a mountain in Zhabran Village, which is 18 km west of the county town of Zhada.
The first Westerners to reach Guge were a Jesuit missionary Ant¨®nio de Andrade and his brother, Manuel Marques, in 1626. De Andrade reported seeing irrigation canals and rich crops in what is now a dry and desolate land.
Perhaps as evidence of the kingdom´s openness, de Andrade´s party was allowed to construct a chapel in Tsaparang and instruct the people about Christianity. This decision might have brought Guge to its end. Some accounts relate that the king´s brother, a staunch Buddhist, called Ladakhis to overthrow the ruler, who had converted to Christianity along with his queen. It is believed that the Ladakhi army slaughtered most of the people of Guge, about 200 of whom managed to survive and fled to Qulon.
