caption : Travelling westward towards Tsada & Guge -
The Lost Kingdom
Leaving the snow storm, we drove westward towards Tsada. However
the roads were covered with snow and plus the guide pessimistic
views, we too became pessimistic if we could reach Tsada. We
travelled more than an hour on the road without meeting any
vehicles from either directions.
caption : Erosion on these rocks created these
beautiful design on its faces
Things became gloomy but our driver insisted on pushing forward.
Thanks to the driver positive attitude, we finally met an oncoming
vehicle who confirmed that the road ahead was not blocked. Driving
another 4 hours, we were greeted with a totally different
landscape, a desert scene.
caption : Erosion on these rocks are caused by
the surface of the soft rocks
Here's a little history of Western Tibet. Most of
Tibet history began in Yarlung Valley after the 7th century.
However it is thought that the Shangshung kingdom of the western
Tibet probably ruled Tibet several century before that. Bon
religion was suppose to originate from here.
caption : All these soft rock still stands because of
the dry weather here
In the 9th century, one of the sons of King Langdharma
(anti-Buddhist) assassinated him in Lhasa and fled to western
Tibet. He then established his Guge Kingdom in Tsparang. Guge
Kingdom, through its contact with India led to the revival of
Buddhism on the Tibetan plateau.
caption : These caves on the rock became shelters for
travellers travelling the Tibet-India trade
route
However in the 16th century, a Jesuit missionary who
thought that Guge Kingdom was a long lost Christian civilisation
came to Guge. He was disappointed when he found that it was a
mistake but was suprised at the tolerance and respect for his
Christian faith. The king even allowed the Jesuit to set up a
mission in his kingdom. This outraged the lamas who
plotted with the Ladakhis to lay seige to Tsparang. The city fell
and the king was overthrown but Guge Kingdom too collapsed and was
lost in history for a long long time.
