Explore in Yarlung Valley - 9 Nights 10Days

Explore in Yarlung Valley - Explore the Yarlung Valley - Yarlung Valley Tour - Tibet Yarlung Valley Tour

As early myths of the origin of the Tibetan people suggest, the Yarlung valley was the cradle of the civilization of central Tibet. The early Yarlund kings, although glorified in legend, were probably no more than chieftains whose domain extended not much further than the Yarlund valley itself. A reconstruction of Tibet’s first fortress, Yumbulagang, can still be seen in the Yarlund valley, and it is here that the 28th king of Tibet is said to have received Tibet’s first Buddhist scriptures in the 5th century AD. According to legend, they fell on the roof of Yumbulagang.

Credible historical records regarding the Yarlung valley dynasty date only from the time when the fledgling kingdom entered the international arena in the 6th century. By this time the Yarlung kings, through conquest and alliances had made significant headway in unifying much of central Tibet. Namri songtsen, the 32nd Tibetan king, continued this trend and extended Tibetan influence into inner Asia. Defeating the Qiang, tribes on China’s borders. But the true flowering of Tibet as an important regional power came about with the accession to rule of Tibet as an important regional power came about with the accession to rule of Namri Songtsen’s son, Songtsen Gampo.

Under Songtsen Gampo, central Tibet entered a new era. Tibetan expansion continued unabated. The armies of Tibet ranged as far a field as northern India and emerged as a threat to the Tang dynasty in China. Both Nepal and China reacted to the Tibetan incursions by reluctantly agreeing to alliances through marriage. Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo’s Chinese bride, and Princess Bhrikuti, his Nepali bride, became important historical figures for the Tibetans, as it was through their influence that Buddhism first gained royal patronage and a foothold on the Tibetan plateau.

Contact with the Chinese led to the introduction of the sciences of astronomy and medicine, and Tibetan scrip was developed from Indian sources. It was used in the first translations of Buddhist scriptures, in drafting a code of law and in writing the first histories of Tibet.

For two centuries after the reign of Songtsen Gampo, Tibet continued to grow in power and influence. By the time of King Trisong Detsen’s reign, Tibetan influence extended over Turkestan, northern Pakistan, Nepal and India. In China, Tibetan armies conquered Gansu and Sichuan, and controlled the great Buddhist cave complex of Dunhuang.

A Sino-Tibetan treaty was signed in 822 during the reign of King Tritsug Detsen Ralpachen. It was immortalsed in stone on three steles: one in Lhasa, outside the Jokhang; one in the Chinese capital of Chang’ and one on the border of Tibet and China. Only the Lhasa stele still stands Signatories to the treaty swore’…the whole region to the east …being the country of Great China and the whole region to the west being assuredly that of the country of Great Tibet, from either side of that frontier there shall be no warfare, no hostile invasions, and no seizure of territory

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