More than 1,000 years ago, a powerful kingdom with a splendid civilization was born here ¡£The most mysterious thing about Guge Kingdom is how a kingdom with such rich and well-developed culture disappeared suddenly and completely.The ruins of the capital of Guge Kingdom, located in Zhada County, are well-known throughout the world and are under key protection of the State. In the following hundreds of years after its disappearance, nearly no people knew that the Kingdom had ever existed. No destruction has been done to the construction and the streets there. No correction has been done to its characters and religion, even to the mural paintings and the art styles. The scene of the final ruin remains exactly the same as it happened. How all these happened has remained a mystery.
    Guge Kingdom had a population of 100,000 when it was prosperous. What happened to the people was also a mystery. The number of the corpses in the cave was far less than 100,000. The desertifications of the oasis, other natural disasters or plagues were not enough to explain the sudden disappearance of the whole nation and its civilization. If they migrated to other places, there must be some Guge descendants who know about the Guge history. However, it seems that no one know about Kingdom and no persuasive evidence leads to the answer.
    Located in the Ngari Region , Tibet Autonomous Region£¬Ruins of Guge Kingdom are the Old Summer Palace of Tibet. While these ruins were once an imperial estate which fell into disrepair after the civil revolt and the invasion of the allied armies of eight foreign countries, the Guge kingdom also encountered civil strife and foreign attacks which fragmented the once prosperous state. However, the legendary kingdom hasn't been totally lost as much can be learned about it from its remains.
    According to historical records, after the last king of the Tupo Dynasty, Glang Darma, was assassinated in 843, the royal family began to fight for the throne. Gyide Nyimagun, Long Darma's descendent, lost the war and ran away to Ngari, where he established a small kingdom. Later, Gyide Nyimagun divided Ngari into three parts and gave them to his three sons. Dezogun, Gyide Nyimagun¡¯s third son, ruled the Guge Kingdom. According to the Annals of Kings and Officials of Tibet, it was ruled by about 16 kings with armies of tens of thousands of soliders during the over 700 years in which it flourished.
   It is well_known that Guge has a very significant position in the history of economic and cultural development of Tibet. Many significant Buddhist doctrines of ancient India were passed on to hinterland Tibet via Guge. Guge was also one of the important commercial ports linking ancient Tibet with the outside world. After the Tupo Dynasty died out, Tibet entered a 400-some year period of isolation. Guge was always a large and powerful kingdom. Even the dust of time cannot hide its prosperity and past glory.
    At present,there are a total of 1,416 surviving pieces of architecture, including 879 caves, 445 houses, 60 blockhouses, 28 pagodas, and four tunnels, which lead in all directions inside the architectural group. At the outer ring there are walls made of loess, which are decorated with many figures of Buddha, scriptures and incantations in Tibetan, and Sanskrit engraved on large cobbles. The houses within the ruins have wooden structures and level roofs.
    Perhaps the most interesting aspects of the Ruins are the five temples and palaces ¨C the White Temple, Red Temple, Samsara Temple, Imperial Palace, and Assembly Palace. Many inscriptions, statues and murals are displayed inside these. The most complete and valuable artifacts remaining are the murals, which are mainly pictures of Sakyamuni, the king, queen, prince and other royal servants. Beside, in the sanctuary pictures of the cultivation of male and female Esoteric Buddhas can be found. The margins are painted with dozens of nude Dakinis. The colors and lines of the murals can be compared with those of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. Most of the statues here are golden and silver Buddhist statues, among these the Silver Eyes of Guge is of the highest achievement.
    The only path from the base of the hill to the palace halls on the hilltop is a man-made tunnel. The upper part of the Guge Castle holds the Winter Hall and Summer Hall, where the royal family lived. They are empty now. Only the frescos and wooden engravings in Tancheng Hall are well preserved. Guge's colored paintings, frescos and sculptures are rich works of a high artistic level and immense research value.

Notes :
    There is infrequent public transport to the Guge Kingdom sites,so unless you have a rented Land Cruiser getting to these areas .Besides, there are two routes to Guge city. One is from Yecheng in Xinjiang to Zanda via Shiquanhe Town. The other is from Lhasa to Xigaze, then to Zanda. . Both are rough and go over some very high passes.
    A visitor's permit is required for travel to Zanda. Prospective visitors fill in the appropriate forms at the local police station, and receive the permit, free of charge, the same day.