Ruins of Guge Kingdom

Overview
Guge Kingdom was founded by son of King Lang Darmain, at about the 10th century. The king is famous for that he fled from Lhasa after the collapse of the Tubo Kingdom, which played an important role in the second renascence in Tibet. The kingdom lasted for as long as 700 years. In the 17th century, it disappeared mysteriously .

Remaining
Today we can see some ruins of 180,000 square meters of the Guge kingdom. Those ruins lie on a hilltop near a river. The ruins include houses, cave dwellings, monasteries and stupas, all scattered around on the hill and surrounding area. There are palaces built on the top of the mountain. And on the mountainside are monasteries. There are also cave dwellings at the foot of the hill. Those are for the common people. Tunnels and walls surrounds the ruins of the kingdom. They also once served as fortifications. Some of these structures remain in perfevt condition, while most of the others become dust.

There once was a two-kilometer long tunnel which was built of stones, diving from the summit to the river below. For sometime it was used even as a water supply for the Guge people. Unfortunately, now the tunnel remains in ruin.

Murals
The magnificent murals, sculptures and stone inscriptions of the Guge kingdom are quite popular. Most of them are attached to the surviving structures. Those murals, some of them are over hundreds of years old, from White Palace, Red Palace, Yamantaka Chapel, Tara Chapel and Mandala Chapel are in good condition. The themes of the murals are mainly about stories of Buddha, Sakyamuni, Songtsen Gampo, kings of Guge and their ministers. There is a mural in the chapel on the summit of the hill depicits male and female Buddhas bringing the Tantric cultivation together. The lower part of the mural displays purgatory with naked, enchanting Dakins flanking each side. People esteems that the artistic and aesthetic value of Guge murals equal with Mogao Caves.

The wall of Guge serves as a library of stone inscriptions, which are scattered around. Those inscriptions are no less impressive as those murals. Most of them are of the Guge style, which is characterized in the using of the gold and silver Buddha.

There are weapons of the Guge people and mummies. The weapons are probably belonging to Guge soliders. These are the only traces of the old Guge kingdom.