Shannan Attractions
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| The Yumbu Lakhang Palace |
Heavenly Lake Namtso Samye Monastery Yamdrok Yumtso Lake
Mindroling Monastery Samding Monastery Tombs of Tibet Kings Trandruk Monastery Yumbu Lakhang
Shannan lies south of the Gangdise Mountains and Nyenchen Tanglha Range. Located in the lower middle reaches of the Yarlong Tsangpo River, it connects with Lhasa by Quxu Bridge on the north. From there to west, Shigatse can be reached, and eastwards you can get to Nyingchi, a region at the lowest average altitude of Tibet. It's the southwest border of China, adjoining India and Bhutan on the south.
Shannan possesses a brilliant history. Visiting there, you can find a lot of ancient buildings and historical sites. Some of them seem so unattractive. However, almost each building or site has a very long history relating to the development of Tibet.
Going to Shannan, you can start the tour from Tsedang Town, Naidong County. There are buses from Lhasa to Tsedang via Quxu Bridge. After arriving at Tsedang, you can visit the local attractions along the following directions:
Southwards |
| Tombs of Tibet Kings |
Tombs of Tibet Kings is the largest imperial graveyard in Tibet. It's situated in Qonggyai County, Shannan. The construction of the graveyard took more than 300 years. There are tombs of 16 kings and their princes and princesses.
Yumbu Lakhang is famed as the first Tibetan palace. It was originally built for Nyatri Tsenpo who was the first king of the land in the 2nd century BC. The palace is located on the Zhaxi Ciri Mountain, five kilometers (three miles) south of Naidong County, Shannan. In Tibetan, Yumbu means female deer. That's because the Zhaxi Ciri Mountain looks like a female deer. Lakang means holy palace.
Trandruk Monastery was built to commemorate Songtsen Gampo's great deeds. Two kilometers (one mile) from Tsedang Town, the monastery is the first Buddhist chapel in Tibet.
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Westwards
Also you can go westwards by car or by boat. Then, you can reach Samye Monastery. Samye Monastery is the first temple to be built in Tibet and the first complete with the three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It's located in Ngagzha County, the north bank of Yarlong Tsangpo River.Eastwards
If going eastwards, you can get to the famous Heavenly Lake Namtso, which is located in Nakchu Region near to Shannan.
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| Travel to the Yamdrok Yumtso Lake |
On the Way back to Lhasa
On the way from Tsedang to Lhasa, it only takes about four hours by bus. If you're not so hurried, you might as well get off the bus and spend two hours visiting Mindroling Monastery. Mindroling Monastery is the largest and also the most important monastery of the Red Sect of Lamaism. It's located more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Tsedang Town.
Moreover, the Yamdrok Yumtso Lake lies on the border of Ngarzhag and Gonga counties, Shannan, 230 kilometers (143 miles) from Tsedang. Yamdrok Yumtso Lake is one of three holy lakes in Tibet. It is the largest freshwater lake at the south foot of the Himalayas. Around the lake exist Samding Monastery, Karuola Glacier, Noijinkansong Mountain and many other attractions.