Tibetan Buddhist stupa and gompa fort in background Gyantse Tibetan Plateau Tibet Autonomous Region Peoples Republic of China
Gyantse is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region (after Lhasa, and Shigatse), but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities. Gyantse is notable for its restored Gyantse Dzong or fort, and its magnificent tiered Kumbum (literally, '100,000 images') of the Palcho Monastery, the largest chörten in Tibet. The Kumbum was commissioned by a Gyantse prince in 1427 and was an important centre of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. This religious structure contains 77 chapels in its six floors, and is illustrated with over 10,000 murals, many showing a strong Nepali influence, which have survived almost entirely intact. The town is strategically located in the Nyang Chu valley on the ancient trade routes from the Chumbi Valley, Yatung and Sikkim, which met here. From Gyantse, routes led to Shigatse downstream and also over the Karo La (Pass) to Central Tibet. The fortress (constructed in 1390) guarded the southern approaches to the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley and Lhasa. The town was surrounded by a wall 3 km long.
Size: 3937px × 2570px
Location: Gyantse Tibetan Plateau Tibet Autonomous Region People's Republic of China
Photo credit: © Adrian Weston / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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