Part 7 - Tsada, Guge Kingdom

Part 7 - Tsada, Guge Kingdom                                                                                                                                                 









Bao-la Pass, 5200m





Tibet Earth Forest of Zanda National Ecological Park - remarkable sandstone erosions












The Guge Kingdom



The Guge palace, carved out of the sandstone





Although the kingdom ended in the 17th century people continued to live till the 1980s in the sandstone caves and maintained the Guge temples 



The wall paintings in the Guge temples haven't been destroyed by the Red Army, hence they are still incredibly well preserved pieces of art from the 15th to the 17th century.



























Tholing Monastery in the town of Tsada

Founded ca 1000AD, Tholing became a portal to Tibet for Indian scholars to visit and spread religious-cultural ideas of Buddhism in Tibet. Patronized by the king of Guge, this Buddhist monastery marked the evolution of ascetic Buddhism in Tibet.The Cultural Revolution almost completely destroyed most of the buildings, a few have been restored since then. 

A painting showing the complex before the destruction took place




Monk creating a mini stupa from yak butter

All photos by the author, apart from those marked with 'www', which were taken from various internet sources.

Part 7 - Tsada, Guge Kingdom                                                                                                                                                 









Bao-la Pass, 5200m





Tibet Earth Forest of Zanda National Ecological Park - remarkable sandstone erosions












The Guge Kingdom



The Guge palace, carved out of the sandstone





Although the kingdom ended in the 17th century people continued to live till the 1980s in the sandstone caves and maintained the Guge temples 



The wall paintings in the Guge temples haven't been destroyed by the Red Army, hence they are still incredibly well preserved pieces of art from the 15th to the 17th century.



























Tholing Monastery in the town of Tsada

Founded ca 1000AD, Tholing became a portal to Tibet for Indian scholars to visit and spread religious-cultural ideas of Buddhism in Tibet. Patronized by the king of Guge, this Buddhist monastery marked the evolution of ascetic Buddhism in Tibet.The Cultural Revolution almost completely destroyed most of the buildings, a few have been restored since then. 

A painting showing the complex before the destruction took place




Monk creating a mini stupa from yak butter

All photos by the author, apart from those marked with 'www', which were taken from various internet sources.