Yumbu Lakang Palace
( 2005-12-01 )

Best time to go: Summer

Yumbu Lakang, reputed as the first palace in Tibet history, is also the oldest extant building in Tibet. Lying 12 kilometers southwest of Tsedang Town of Lhoka Prefecture in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, it sits atop a small hill east of the Yarlong River and faces west.

"Yumbu" means female deer, describing the resemblance of the mountain shape around, and "Lakang" means holy palace, so Yumbu Lakang means "the palace on the back legs of the doe" in Tibetan.

People say the soaring building was built in the 2nd century BC especially for the first Tibetan king - Nyatri Tsenpo, who was said to have descended from the heaven.

Legend says that in the fifth century, a Buddhist sutra fell from the sky onto theroofof Yambu Lakang. Nobody could read the book. However a sage predicted it would be interpreted between the 7th and 8th centuries, so the sutra was well kept in the palace. Legends such as this really fascinate a lot of people from home and abroad.

Youmpu Lhakang became famous after Songtsan Gambo of the Tubo Kingdom (629-846) and Princess Wencheng spent their summer holidays here. Hence, the place became the couple'ssummer palace.

After Songtsen Gampo transferred his capital toLhasain the 7th century, Yumbu Lakang became a chapel and was later converted into a Gulugpa monastery during the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama.

Tibet kings and their ministers are enshrined in a small chapel of the palace. Upstairs in the chapel is a small chanting hall, which houses statues of Sakyamuni and Chenrezi. A mural gallery above tells of Nyatri Tsenpo's arrival from the sky and stories about him as well as of Tibetan history.