Tombs of the Tibetan Kings

Location of the Tombs of the Tibetan Kings: 

Located at chong Gye, the tumuli of the Tibetan kings is 30 km from Tsedang.

Brief introduction of Tombs of the Tibetan Kings: 

Buried here the kings, the ministers and the royal concubines from the 29th Tuboking, to the last. It is also the only tumuli group in Tibet. From all of the tombs, the most remarkable one is King Songtsan gampo's.

History and Legend of the Tombs of the Tibetan Kings:

According to historical records there are five underground chambers containing statues of Songtsan Gampo, Shakyamuni and Padmasambava with great quantities of gold, silver, pears and agates as funeral objects. The coffin itself is said to have been laid in the central chamber and to its left side it is said to a suit of amour worn by Songtsan Gampo on expedition; to its right side to have laid knights and battle horses made of solid gold as the retinue of Songtsan Gampo after his demise. Buried at the head of the coffin is a coral statue of Lord Loyak Gyalo, whose function is supposed to give light to the dead king and at the foot of it is a cache of pears weighing 35 kilograms, wrapped in silk, as Songtsan Gampo's share of wealth.

Two stone lions are situated in front of the graveyard. Although one has been destroyed the other is intact apart from a broken leg. The lion is 1.55 meters (about 5 feet) high and 1.3 meters (about 1.4 yards) in length. It stands on a 0.76 meter (about 0.83 yards) pedestal.

A tomb near the north bank of Chonggye River is said to be the tomb of Songtsen Gamp, who set up the first unified regime in Tibet. This splendid tomb stands 13.4 meters (about 44 feet) high. On the top, there is a temple for worship in which the statues of Songtsen Gamp, his wives - Princess Wen Cheng and Princess Chi Zun - and his ministers are displayed. The gate of the tomb opens to the west, the direction of Sakyamuni's homeland, demonstrating the king's piety to Buddhism. According to descriptive records, the inner tomb (about 100 meters square) (about 109 yards) consists of five halls, the middle hall being the one in which the remains of Songtsen Gampo and his two wives were laid. It is believed that statues of Songtsen Gampo, Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara are in the tomb. The tomb also contains a large number of gold and silver utensils, reliquary and commemorative artifacts.

Thirty third King Songtsan Gampo, moved his capital to Lhasa, then unified the whole Tibet. In order to cherish the memory of their hometown and the relatives, also ancestor Kings from the 33 on wards were buried back to Chonggye. This is main reason why the tumuli is as big as 3.85 million square meters.

Tips
Tourists can take a coach from Zetang to Qonggyai County seat and then change for a taxi.